


Shadow of a Beast

by ExtremeLight9



Category: The Last Guardian (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Enemies to Friends, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Humor, Shapeshifter! Trico
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 19:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12175446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExtremeLight9/pseuds/ExtremeLight9
Summary: A mysterious man is found in the forest and brought into the boy's village, but he soon finds out that the man is not really what he seems.





	1. The Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, this idea won’t leave me alone so I had to write it.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own the Last Guardian.

It was fall and the trees had long changed color. A group of men were wandering through the forest with their weapons, eyes searching the trees for any sign of movement.

 

It was their job to hunt in the forest and bring meat back to the village. However, there hadn’t been many successful hunts over the last few weeks and it was causing a lot of concern since winter was approaching.

 

“Let’s head back. There is nothing here.” Their leader finally said with a sigh, frustration clear on his face. Some men sighed while others groaned, knowing they had to return to everyone empty-handed now.

 

As they began making their way back to the village, one of them suddenly shouted. “Hey, come see!” The others immediately perked up and hurried over to him expecting it to be an animal, but when they got there they were shocked.

 

It was a man lying on the ground, unconscious.

 

**\------**

“Tomi, catch!”

 

The boy, Tomi, grinned as he caught the ball successfully and then tossed him it back to his friend. The child had been running around in the field in front of the village gate with his friend when he saw the hunters coming out of the forest and was surprised when he saw them an actual person with them.

 

Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched in confusion as the hunters walked through the village with the unconscious man. Tomi couldn’t get a good look at him, but he could see that he was wearing attire like theirs except his were grey and wore a black pants. Quiet murmurs filled the air as the man was carried into the healer’s tent.

 

“Who was that? I never seen him in our village before.” His friend stated.

 

“Me neither,” Tomi said, watching the tent curiously and frowned when people blocked his view of what was happening inside. Who was that? Was he from another village? What happened to him?

 

**\------**

 

**_Wake up!_ **

 

His eyes immediately snapped open and he found himself lying on a bed on the ground. He sat up and looked around in confusion.

 

“Oh, you’re awake!” He turned to see an old woman sitting next him.

 

“Who are you?” He asked.

 

“Don’t worry, our hunters found you passed out in the forest and brought you here to me. I am the village healer.” The old lady said as he stepped closer and knelt down in front of him. “Here, drink this. It should help you feel better.”

 

He took the bowl from her and stared at the liquid in it warily before slowly drinking it.

 

“How do you feel? You were out the whole day you know,” she told him.

 

The man paused. “Was I?” He asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. “Well, I’m alright I guess.” He said, rubbing the back of his head as if he didn’t know what to tell her.

 

The healer blinked at the odd response, but decided not press for more. “Wait here, I’ll be right back.” She said carefully and left the tent. She soon returned with an old man with white hair.

 

“Hello, I’m glad you to see you’re awake. I am the elder of this village.” He stated firmly and the man greeted back. “I’m sure you probably have questions of your own, but would you mind answering a few things for us.”

 

The man shrugged.

 

“Good, now tell us. What were you doing in the forest? Where did you come from?”

 

“Things had been quite terrible in my village so I left. I spent many days wandering the land looking for a new home.” He said.

 

“And what happened to you? Did you get attacked?” He asked.

 

“Well, no. I’ve been walking for a while looking for a place to rest in, but the mountains aren’t exactly safe so I kept going without any sleep. I must have passed out at some point.” He answered offhandedly.

 

The Elder and the healer shared confused looks.

 

His story was probably true considering how far the other villages were from theirs so it will be a rough journey for anyone who wasn’t well prepared, but for someone who just woke up in a tent surrounded by strangers, this man seemed to be….oddly at ease.

 

“What is your name?” The Elder asked.

 

The man stared at him for a moment and smiled. “Taiko.”

 

**\-----**

The Elder had spoken with the chief after he left them who decided to let the man stay for a while, but he will have to help out in the village in change for that.

 

But over the next few days, everyone were taken aback by the man’s feats. He turned out to be really strong and an excellent hunter, managing to hunt down a deer by himself and carrying it all the back to the village on his shoulders, much to the other hunters’ disbelieve.

 

Where he found it and how was something he never explained.

 

It didn’t take long for the news about the stranger to spread through the village and everyone wouldn’t stop talking about him including Tomi and his friends.

 

The more the child heard about that man, the more he amazed he became by him. The boy had also never left the village before in his life so he really wanted to meet him and ask him about his travels and the places he has been to.

 

But all of that changed in one night.

 

Tomi had been staring through the window to pass the time until felt tired enough to sleep when he suddenly noticed something near the village gate. There was someone down there, looking around before heading into the forest.

 

Tomi blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. He knew those grew clothes anywhere. That was Taiko, but why was he leaving the village in the middle of the night? Where was going?

 

He considered waking someone to tell them about this, but decided against that. It might not be anything bad. Maybe he was just going for a walk, but something about the strange way he saw him acting led him to think otherwise.

 

Curiosity getting the best of him, the boy slowly closed the window and made his way out of boys’ hut as quietly as he could. Wasting no time, he hurried towards the forest after the man.

 

Luckily, it was a moonlit night so it wasn’t too dark for him to see his way around. The boy glanced around in confusion, wondering where the man went when he suddenly heard something.

 

Something was moving in the trees.

 

For a moment he thought it was Taiko, but the sound of twigs and branches snapping harshly made him realize it wasn’t. His ears then picked up on another sound, footsteps, but there was something weird about it.

 

They sounded so heavy, so loud. Whatever animal they belonged too, it was big. Could it be a bear? Panicking, the boy ran over and hid in the bushes, hoping the animal won’t find him.

 

The sound of the steps grew closer and closer. Tomi felt his heart beating violently against his chest. He peeked through the tiny space between the bushes and he felt his blood run cold.

 

The animal…..the creature was _huge!_ It was bigger than anything the boy had seen. It had blue horns on its head and he could make out a pair of wings on its back too. The beast’s eyes were glowing in the dark making its appearance even more terrifying.

 

Saying that the boy was scared was an understatement. He had never been more terrified in his entire life. What…what was this thing? Where did it come from? What will it do if it see him?

 

Tomi wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

 

The beast let out a tired yawn then began scratching its neck with its hind leg and shook its body, some feathers falling out its body. It suddenly stopped what it was doing and began sniffing the air.

 

It finally glanced in his direction making the boy’s heart skipped a beat. It slowly began following the scent, getting closer and closer to where he was hiding.

 

Tomi’s mind was racing. He had no idea what do. He could barely think in his panic. Should he get up and run away? Could he outrun that monster? Would it follow him to the village?

 

The beast was now a few feet away from the bushes and lowered its head suspiciously. It took all of the child’s willpower not to scream and give away his presence to the monster right then and there. This was it. He was done for. The beast was going to find him and eat him!

 

Why did have to come here? Why didn’t he just stay in his village? He was so stupid-

 

The beast suddenly perked up and moved away from the bushes, much to the boy’s confusion. For a few moments it stood there stiffly almost as if it was listening for something. Finally, it seemed to snap out of whatever came over it and grunted almost in annoyance.

 

Tomi watched in confusion and slight horror as strange blackness slowly seemed to come out of nowhere and cover the creature’s body until it looked like a giant walking shadow. The dark mass then began to morph and _shrink_ until it became the same shape and size of a human.

 

The dark figure stood there for a few seconds until blackness finally dispersed and in the place of the beast was….Taiko.

 

_What!?_ Tomi thought, his thoughts coming to a screeching halt.

 

The man looked down at himself and his hands in annoyance before sighing and walking away towards the village.

 

For a while there was nothing but the sounds of the forest creatures in the air. Tomi lay there on the grass, his mind failing to process any of what just transpired. Once he was sure the man was really gone, the boy shakily stepped out of the bushes staring at the direction the man went with wide eyes.


	2. Apprehension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I’m finally back with a new chapter!

“Dad, you have to believe me!”

 

Tomi’s dad sighed while sharpening his spear. “Tomi, it was probably just a dream. Taiko is not a monster.”

 

“But I saw him!” Tomi insisted. “One moment he was this huge winged beast and then he changed into a human again!”

 

“People _can’t_ turn to beasts, Tomi. It’s not possible. It was never mentioned in legends about a creature that could turn into a human, at least not the one you’ve just described.” His dad explained.

 

Tomi flattered for a moment, but refused to drop it. “Then we need to ask the Elder. He probably knows-”

 

“Tomiheanchu, stop!” The boy stopped in his tracks and flinched at the use of his full name. “You will not go around telling everyone that our guest is secretly a monster disguised as a human!” The man said sternly and Tomi flinched. When his dad put it that way, it sounded pretty ridiculous.

 

His mom, who was fixing a tear in a shirt and listening to them the entire time, spoke up. “Your father is right, Tomi. Besides, we can’t make such accusations towards Taiko especially with how helpful he had been to the village.”

 

His dad hummed in agreement. “He has helped out in many hunts and brought us a lot of food. I wish know how he’s so good at hunting though. I mean, me and the other hunters spent days searching the forest and barely found anything.”

 

_I know how._ Tomi thought.

 

“Now how about you go play with your friends, son.” His dad said, ruffling his hair playfully.

 

Tomi pouted and walked out of the hut in annoyance. Why won’t they believe him? He knew what he saw and it certainly wasn’t a dream. The boy barely gotten a wink of sleep after what he witnessed last night. He tried telling his friends before coming here and they didn’t believed him either!

 

Tomi sighed. As much as it upset him, he couldn’t really blame them for not believing him. He didn’t have any proof that Taiko was truly a beast and his story sounded insane no matter how he worded it to anyone.

 

Tomi suddenly panicked when he spotted Taiko talking with one of the hunters coming his way and quickly went to hide behind a barrel. Seeing this man again after finding out the truth sent a shiver down his spine. The boy felt fear worm its way into his heart as the reality of what’s happening slowly began sinking in.

 

There was a monster living among them, one that can change how it looks and deceive people into trusting it. It could attack and hurt anyone at any second and nobody in the village will be prepared.

 

The boy swallowed back his fear and peeked from behind the barrel, deciding that from now on he will keep on an eye on the beast to find out what it was planning. Maybe he can get a proof for everyone that he wasn’t crazy or imagining things-

 

“Tomi?”

 

The boy nearly jumped out of his skin and glanced back to the little girl standing right behind him with her doll.

 

“Suki, what are you doing here?” He asked, trying to calm his rigid nerves down.

 

“I’m looking for someone to play with me,” the little girl answered.

 

“I can’t. Sorry,” He said and turned to peek over the barrel.

 

“Why not?” His sister pouted.

 

“I’m keeping an eye on that man.” He said, pointing at Taiko. “He’s actually a beast and not a human.”

 

“Really!?” The six year old gasped and quickly went to hide with him, peering at the man curiously.

 

Tomi blinked, taken aback by her reaction. He knew she probably believed him due to her young age, but it was nice to have _someone_ who listened to him. “Yeah, I’m trying to find out why he is here and what he wants.”

 

Tomi watched Taiko laugh with the other men as they took their weapons from the hut and soon left. The gears in the boy’s head began turning.

 

“Wait here. I’ll go inside to see if I could find anything,” he told her before standing up and sneaking inside the men’s hut.

 

His eyes scanned the room for anything remotely suspicious, but saw nothing. He was about to leave when he spotted something near the beds that immediately recognized.

 

Taiko’s satchel.

 

The man must have forgotten it. Grinning, the boy went over and knelt down in front of it, slipping his hand inside and searching through his belongings. He didn’t find much there. Just some clothes, an old dagger, a tooth necklace which he recalled one of the villagers giving it to him. Taiko hadn’t seemed interested in the gift all that much, but he thanked the woman anyway.

 

As the continued searching inside the satchel, the boy grew more and more disappointment when he didn’t find anything that he could use to prove that Taiko wasn’t really what he seems.

 

Sighing, he reached for the bottom of the satchel just to make sure and blinked when he felt something there. He slowly pulled it out.

 

It was a mask.

 

The boy blinked as he inspected the strange item. It was grey in color and had a pair of horns. He scratched his head, not recalling seeing Taiko wearing it before.

 

The design of the mask was pretty simple though he couldn’t tell what kind of metal was used to make it. There were also some strange symbols on the edges of the mask that he couldn’t read nor understand.

 

Tomi didn’t know why, but something about this mask made him uneasy as he stared directly at its face. Just holding it in his hands made his skin crawl for some reason.

 

“What are you doing, kid?”

 

Tomi gasped when he felt someone grab him by the collar of his shirt and pull him up. He looked up and stiffened when he saw it was Taiko.

 

But how!? Tomi didn’t hear anybody enter the room! How did he manage to sneak behind Tomi without him noticing!?

 

The boy squirmed under the man’s gaze who suddenly noticed the mask in his hand. “Give me that,” he muttered and snatched it away, giving him a hard look. “Why were you looking through my things?”

 

The child’s mind raced for something to say, any excuse to get him out of this mess. “Um…I….I-I just really wanted to see what you have in there. I-I mean, you’ve been to a lot of places, right? You had to have come across a lot of amazing things on your travels!” He stammered nervously before ducking his head. “Sorry,”

 

Taiko eyed the boy for a minute suspiciously before sighing and letting him go. “Well, sorry to disappoint you kid, but I don’t have anything special for you to see.”

 

“B-but what about that mask? I never saw one like that before.” He said, hoping the question would sound innocent enough.

 

“Oh this? This is just something from my old village, that’s all.” The man shrugged though there was something odd in the way he said it.

 

Tomi frowned, finding it hard to imagine a village where people normally wore a mask like that one. “Oh, okay. Thanks, I’ll be leaving now!” He said with a strained smile and tried to run away only for Taiko to grab him by his hand.

 

“Hold on, kid.” He said, something in the tone of his voice changing. “I’m not going to tell anyone about this, but don’t go looking through my things again, _got it?_ ”

 

Tomi was taken aback by this and nodded frantically.

 

He finally let the boy go and watched him leave the hut. Sighing, he glanced down at his mask for a moment and then put it back inside his satchel.

 

**_Beast….._ **

 

The man froze up and straightened himself. The deep voice was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. “Yes master.”

 

**_The human is near. I can feel it. Find them and bring them to me. Make no mistakes….._ **

****

The man nodded to no one, his eyes flashing green for a moment before returning to normal. He then picked up his satchel and went back to the other hunters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. In the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, here’s chapter three. I hope you enjoy it!

Taiko was walking through the forest. He suddenly paused and his eyes narrowed when a new smell hit his nose. He sniffed the air for a moment and turned to the direction the smell was coming from. He began running again, dashing through the forest and jumping into the air, climbing a tree with an unnatural speed.

 

His eyes searched the area swiftly before finally settling a on a rabbit near a tree. A huge sharp smirk split his face as black matter spread across his hands.

 

**\---------**

“What do you think?”

 

The hunters looked surprised and pleased at the sight of the dead rabbit in his hands.

 

“Excellent work,” the leader said with a nod.

 

“I got ones bigger than that,” one of the men, Akira as Taiko recalled, muttered begrudgingly.

 

“Don’t worry about him, he can be very competitive sometimes,” Tomi’s dad stated.

 

“Hey!” Akira huffed and punched him in the shoulder lightly. He then noticed Taiko was missing his weapon. “Where’s your spear?”

 

“Oh, I….I must have forgotten back where I caught the rabbit,” Taiko stammered.

 

“Again? Yeesh, I’m starting to think you need to tie that thing on your back,” Akira said, waving his own spear in the shapeshifter’s direction.

 

Taiko knew the weapon wasn’t pointed at him threateningly, but he couldn’t stop the shiver down his spine at the sight of the sharp tip. “Nah, I’m good. I’m good,” he said, hoping they wouldn’t notice the tremble in his voice.

 

“Come on, let’s head back to the village.”

 

As they made their way back at the village, the shapeshifter glanced around at the men sharply. He had spent a lot of time around these humans, but none of them showed the right symptoms. The chosen human wasn’t one of them.

 

Sighing, he scratched his head, wondering where they were. It’s been a while since he came here and he had yet to find them. They had to be here somewhere. His master was never wrong.

 

Once they made it to the village, one of the caretakers approached him and asked him to come to the boy’s hut this afternoon, saying the kids wanted to see him.

 

He was so tired and wanted to tell her he wasn’t coming, but then thought of the opportunity this presented him. He never got the chance to check on the children of the village before and having so many of them in the same place should make it easier for him to find who he was looking for.  

 

So that’s how he ended up here that afternoon.

 

“Alright, alright. Calm down, children,” The caretaker said kindly as Taiko stood beside her.

 

While he talked with the excited children and answered their questions, his eyes searched the crowd in front of him carefully, but again, he couldn’t sense anything. Usually he would be able to detect the chosen human no matter how far they were from him, but right now he felt nothing at all. Why?

 

“Hey, Taiko?”

 

The man resisted the urge to groan at the voice and turned to the owner of the voice who was none other than Tomi. Over the last few days, that kid had become the bane of his existence, constantly following him around and spying on him. He thought their little talk in the men’s hut the other day would teach him something, but he was wrong apparently.

 

“Yes?” he asked with a strained smile.

 

“Where is your village exactly?” Tomi asked.

 

The man stiffed as everyone’s eyes fell on him, but he recovered quickly. “Somewhere far in the north,”

 

“Oh, what is it called?” he asked again and Taiko felt as if a bucket of ice water fell on him.

 

“Tomi, you should let your other friends ask,” The caretaker stated.  

 

“But everybody here wants to know too, right?” he turned to the children who nodded and voiced their agreement. Tomi then turned to them with an innocent smile that Taiko could easily tell was fake.

 

“It’s…uh….it’s called….the Broken Leaf village,” Taiko stammered, wincing at the horrible name.

 

The woman frowned. “I have never heard of it before,”

 

“We're not that well known,” the man replied with a laugh and briefly exchanged glares with the kid. _That brat!_

 

**\-------**

_Tomi was running as fast as he could through a grey wasteland, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. He tripped on something and his chin grazed the ground hard. He groaned and slowly sat up._

_The sound of beating wings made his blood run cold and he quickly pulled himself up before running away again._

_He looked back to see the dark silhouette of the winged beast in the sky, blocking the moonlight with its massive form. Its toxic yellow eyes flashed dangerously down at him before it lunged from the air at him with its claws opened wide._

 

Tomi woke up with a loud gasp, drenched in cold sweat. Glancing around quickly, he sighed in relief when he saw he was back in the boys’ hut. He laid down and stared at the ceiling.

 

It was just a dream.

 

The reassurance didn’t really help the child feel any better than it normally would considering the creature in his nightmare was living right next to where he slept. This wasn’t the first time he had a nightmare like this and each time they get worse and worse.

 

He could never feel at ease with that creature living among them. The thought of him attacking them or hurting someone when they least expected it was something that won’t leave his mind no matter how hard he tried.

 

He groaned weakly and rolled over. Maybe….maybe he was overthinking this. Taiko hadn’t done anything, well, bad since he arrived. What if he was telling the truth about just wanting a place to stay in? What if he was actually a benevolent creature like in some of the stories his mom told him?

 

Sighing, the boy tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep, but the memory of the glowing eyes and sharp claws was burned in his mind and prevented him from doing so.

 

He didn’t know how long he laid there, but his eyes snapped open at a rumbling noise somewhere. Standing up, he carefully made his way to the window and looked outside. For a while he didn’t see anything, but after a minute he saw it. There were two shapes moving in the sky, but they were too small for him to make them out. He watched in stunned silence as they descended into the forest.

 

Tomi’s eyes widened and he quickly hurried out of the hut towards the men’s’, intending on warning his dad or _anyone_ about what he just saw. He slowly peeked through the doorway and glanced around until he saw his dad sleeping quietly with the other men. It was then he noticed something that set off all of the alarms in his head.

 

Taiko was missing.

 

It didn’t take him long to put the pieces together in his head and knew where he went. The boy looked down at his feet in thought before coming with a decision.

 

**\-------**

_This is a stupid idea._ Tomi thought nervously as he walked through the dark forest, clutching a wooden club tightly in his hands. No matter how horrible this predicament was, it was the best choice he could think of.

 

He couldn’t tell his dad or anybody because if he didn’t find any monsters or anything suspicious in the forest then not only he will be humiliated, but everyone in the village will think he’s crazy too. It was already bad enough to some of the kids tease him about his claims of seeing a monster in the forest.

 

Mustering up whatever courage he had, the boy continued making his way through the forest. He froze up when faint voices reached his ears. He slowly moved through the trees until he could make out some figures standing in a clearing. Feeling his heart hammering against his chest, the child pressed himself against the tree.

 

“-so what brought you two here?” Taiko said, sounding quite nervous. Tomi peeked from behind the tree to see two people standing before the man.

 

The first was a man taller than Taiko and much more built. The second was a woman with short black hair. They both were wearing grey clothes similar to Taiko’s, but what caught the boy off guard the most was the fact that they were also wearing horned masks just like the one Taiko had.

 

“You know why,” The man said sternly. “It’s been two weeks since you left and you still haven’t returned with the chosen human yet. Our master is getting impatient!”

 

Taiko flinched. “W-well, I’ve been trying my hardest, but I haven’t found them yet-”

 

“Then you’re not looking hard enough!”

 

Taiko gulped and then sighed, running a hand through his messy black hair. “Look, maybe there was a mistake and there is no human in this village.”

 

“Are you saying our master was wrong?” the woman asked, her tone cold and challenging.

 

“What? No, no. Of course not!” Taiko stammered. “All I’m saying is that _maybe_ the human we’re looking was just passing by the village or maybe they lost the essence or something!”

 

The man marched towards Taiko and towered over him. “Listen closely, we’re only going to give you three more days. If you fail and don’t bring the human by that time then we will come for you and you’ll be severely punished by the master himself. Understood?”

 

Taiko nodded meekly.

 

The two strangers then turned around and began walking away. Then, to the child’s shock and horror, large feathery wings sprouted out of their backs and the two took off into the air.

 

Taiko stood there in the clearing in silence for a moment before groaning and kicking a rock in frustration only to yelp in pain.

 

If Tomi wasn’t terrified out of his mind right now, he would have laughed at that, but he was. Curling up so he wouldn’t be seen, he watched as the man headed back to the village.

 

Tomi sat there numbly, feeling nothing but dread. _I was wrong, I was wrong!_

**\-------**

“Tomi?”

 

The boy snapped out of trance as he looked up at his concerned dad. “Y-yes?”

 

“Have you been listening to any of what I was saying?”

 

“O-of course!”

 

“Then what was it the last thing I said?” the man asked with a raised brow.

 

“Uh…..something about….fishing?” the boy grinned nervously and his dad sighed.

 

“Tomi, you’ve been spacing out a lot lately. Is something wrong?”

 

Yes. “No, everything’s fine!” Tomi said and tried to force some cheer in his voice. His dad eyed him suspiciously and the boy smiled wider under his gaze.

 

“Alright,” the man sighed. “But still, you’ve been disappearing a lot these past couple of days. What have you been doing?”

 

His sister, who was playing on the ground, spoke up. “Oh, he’s spying on the-”

 

“BIRDS! I was spying…..on birds,” Tomi trailed off and wanted to slap his forehead at how dumb that sounded. His dad was staring at him dumbfounded, looking lost on what to say. “Anyway, I’ll be going now!”

 

With that, the boy sprinted out of the tent, but not before peaking inside and making a quick shushing motion in his sister’s direction.

 

Making his way through the village, the boy’s mind began to wander to what he witnessed last night. So there more shapeshifting creatures out there. This new piece of information made a shiver run down his spine. At the very least he found out a little more about the creature’s intentions.

 

They were looking for someone, but why? What are they going to do to them? Who was this ‘master’ they kept talking about?

 

Tomi suddenly shivered as a breeze blew his way. Winter was approaching and it was getting colder. He was rubbing his shoulders for warmth when he suddenly saw Taiko step out of the men’s hut and quickly went to hide.

 

**\-------**

 

Taiko sighed as he walked through the village. He had spent the entire night looking for any sign of the chosen human, but the sun rose after several hours of fruitless searching and now he was feeling like he could drop to the ground at any second.

 

He couldn’t believe what was happening. Not only that he made no progress on finding the humans his master had chosen, but now he also had time limit to succeed or else he will face the wrath of his master.

 

He groaned and rubbed his temples in frustration. Due to his heightened senses, he suddenly caught on the new scent nearby and sighed. He turned around and crossed his arms in annoyance. “Alright, kid. Come out now,”

 

For a moment nothing happened, but eventually the boy stepped from behind a barrel. Taiko huffed and marched towards him.

 

“Kid, I thought we agreed that you stop doing things like this,” He said firmly.

 

“No, we agreed that I wouldn’t look through your stuff again,” the boy countered.

 

This human was really starting to test his patience.

 

“Look, kid. I already have enough problems and I’m not in the mood to deal with your childish games, so how about you just scram,” he said, ruffling the boy’s hair.

 

Tomi scowled angrily. He was tired of this, tired of being treated like some dumb kid and a joke. He spent so many nights worrying about everyone’s safety yet they all chose to trust this _stranger_ that they knew for two weeks over him!

 

“I know your secret!” Tomi exclaimed, making Taiko blink in surprise.

 

“W-what are you talking about?” he asked, though there was nervous edge to his voice.

 

“Stop pretending. I know you’re not really human!” he muttered angrily. “I saw you change into a beast in the forest a while ago.”

 

While Tomi continued glaring at him, Taiko was staring at the boy in front of him with wide eyes speechlessly, like a deer caught in the headlights. A rational part of the boy knew that admitting that he knew the beast’s secret might a really bad idea, but he couldn’t just take it anymore. He was tired of worrying and doing nothing.

 

“I was there when those two were talking to you last night and I heard everything. I know the real reason you’re here is because you’re planning on taking someone from my village and I hope you fail!”

 

That seemed to hit a nerve in the man and he glared down at the boy. “I’m not going to fail!” he growled. “What do you even know? My duty is much more complicated than a stupid, ignorant brat like you could ever understand!”

 

Tomi crossed his arms. “Well then, tell me. What’s going happen to the person you’re looking for if you find them? Is something bad going to happen to them? Are they going to be harmed?”

 

Taiko fell silent at that and the child’s eyes widened in horror.

 

“I…I can’t believe it,” he murmured and then glared sharply at the man. “I can’t believe I actually thought you might be good. _You’re just a horrible monster!_ ”

 

Taiko face fell a little and stared down for a moment before scowling. Fine, he wanted him to be the bad guy then so be it.

 

His expression then softened and his posture relaxed instantly. “I have to say I’m surprised you actually found out this much,” he said and shrugged. “But that won’t really change anything. I’ll still get what I want in the end.”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?” the boy asked confused.

 

“I doubt you would actually keep what you found out about me a secret from everyone and since I haven’t been attacked by angry villagers yet, I’m going to assume nobody believed you, am I right?”

 

The boy flinched at that and Taiko grinned smugly. “So it is true!”

 

Tomi huffed defiantly. “So what? I’m going to find a way to show everyone what you truly are!”

 

 Taiko laughed. “Kid, have you ever thought of what I can _really_ do to your village if I tried. I can come to the village at night while everyone is asleep as a beast and start destroying whatever I want. Some humans might even get…hurt. Nobody will know it’s me and since I’m their ‘hero’, they won’t be believe you if you told them the truth about me.”

 

Tomi gasped. “You….you wouldn’t.”

 

“Hey, didn’t you just call me I’m a horrible monster? Why are you surprised?” Taiko muttered with a raised brow. “Now you don’t want me to do anything bad here, do you?”

 

“N-no!” Tomi stuttered.

 

“Then here is the deal. From now on, you will stay out of my way and stop following me around. In return, I won’t cause your little village any _problems_. Are we clear?”

 

Tomi looked down at his feet dejectedly and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded.

 

“Good,” Taiko smiled and left the boy alone.

 

**\--------**

 

As he walked away, Taiko smiled victoriously, glad that something finally went his way. Now that his problem with kid was solved, he could focus completely on finding the chosen human without any distractions. He glanced back at the boy and his smile slowly fell when saw he hadn’t moved from his spot. He looked quite shaken.

 

Taiko frowned and looked away. He had been bluffing back there. Doing something like that was too risky and might end badly for him in the long run. Despite all the annoyance and problems the kid caused him, seeing him that afraid and horrified didn’t give Taiko any satisfaction.

 

 _No, no. Stop it! This is good. Think about your mission!_ Taiko thought furiously, trying to crush the guilt festering within him. He did what he had to do. The kid pushed him into acting that way. He shouldn’t feel bad about it. It wasn’t his fault!

 

He should focus on his mission and nothing else.

 

Expression hardening, the man continued walking away with renewed resolve, though he couldn’t shake the small doubt at the back of his mind.

 


	4. The Last Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I finally got the time to write a new chapter for this. I hope you enjoy it!

Taiko sighed, holding the wooden cup in his hands with a blank stare. All of the village’s men were gathered in the hut with him.

 

The village chief stood up and cleared his throat. “Thank you all for coming. As you all know, our village now has enough food to last us through the winter.”

 

The other men cheered and the chief cracked a small smile despite himself. “Despite all of the odds, the hunters managed to bring us more meat than any other year. We should all thank them, especially you Taiko.” He said, turning to the shapeshifter. “Ever since you came everything had took a turn for the better. Thanks to you my people won’t suffer from hunger. We will forever be grateful for everything you did.”

 

Having everyone’s attention on him, the man rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Oh, it’s the least I could do after letting me stay here with you,” He said with a grin.

 

He knew should be happy with everyone in this village praising him as a hero, knew he should be feeling great about himself, but he wasn’t.

 

This was the third day since the agreement. The other beasts are coming tonight.

 

Taiko had spent the last three days working his hardest to find the chosen human, even to the point of not resting much. He tried. He tried so _hard_ , but in the end he found nothing.

 

It felt surreal to him. In just a couple of hour he will have to face the other beasts empty-handed and tell them that all the waiting they had for the past weeks was for nothing. He will immediately be taken back to their home and he will have to face his master’s rage alone. He shuddered in fear.

 

This can’t be happening. A huge part of him wanted to believe this was all just a terrible, terrible dream and he will wake up soon.

 

It amazed him how he managed to appear calm in front of all these humans when deep inside he was an absolute frantic mess. He was terrified out of his mind. Every hour felt like an eternity and with every minute lost he felt more and more hopeless and anxious. It was like he standing in front of an avalanche. He could see it coming, could hear it coming, but there was nothing he could do to escape it.

 

 A voice at the back of his mind told him that maybe he should try to run away and go somewhere where they can’t find him. He could fly after all and it was a very big world.

 

But the man knew better. He can’t hide from his master. No matter where he went, his master will find him and punish him with no mercy. Taiko wanted to hide under a rock and never come out. It’s all over. _I failed…..just like the kid said I would._ Taiko thought in defeat.

 

He glanced around, hoping for something that would distract him from his bleak thoughts. Gazing between the men who were chatting and laughing, Taiko noticed someone was missing, the annoying brat’s dad. He turned to face one of the hunters.

 

“Hey, where is…” What was his name? “…Takato? Isn’t he coming?”

 

The other man blinked. “Oh, well no.”

 

“Why?” he asked blankly.

 

“You don’t know? One of his kids fell sick this noon,” the man answered and Taiko’s thoughts came to a screeching halt.

 

Sick?

 

 _No….it couldn’t be…._ Taiko thought in disbelief. Well…it was worth a shot. It’s not like he had anything left to lose anyway. “O-oh, that’s too bad.” He said and took a sip from his drink.

 

Once everyone left to sleep, the shapeshifter slowly made his way to the healer’s hut and hid behind a wall. This was where he was told the kid was. He stood there for a moment and then glanced up at the sky.

 

He was running out of time. He had to get in now!

 

Steeling himself, he walked over and placed his satchel by the door before knocking. “Hello?”

 

The healer peeked out of the door and blinked at him. “Oh hello, Taiko. Is there something you need?”

 

“The, uh, chief told me to call for you. It sounded pretty urgent.” he said and the man frowned.

 

“Oh dear, I hope it’s not his back again,” the old man muttered and hurried away.

 

Glancing back to make sure nobody was nearby, he picked up his satchel and sneaked into the hut. His eyes fell on the kid lying on a bed.

 

It was the little girl.

 

Frowning, he stepped forward and then flash of color caught his attention. A blue butterfly was hovering over the kid as she squirmed and rolled over on the bed.

 

There was no doubt about it now. _I finally found you._

 

**\------**

Tomi was staring outside of the window. He couldn’t sleep. He was too anxious to be able to. Today was the final day after all and so far Taiko wasn’t able to find the person he was looking for, which was a huge relief for the boy.

 

Now all he had to do was wait for a bit. Soon enough, Taiko will leave and his village will be safe again. Then this long nightmare will finally be over.

 

But that thought didn’t last long.

 

The boy froze up when he saw him. Taiko was making his way through the village. The boy quickly ducked before he could see him and peeked up again. _Where is he going?_ He thought, narrowing his eyes. For a split-second, the boy had hoped the beast was planning on leaving at last, but that hope was dashed instantly when he saw him walking towards the healer’s hut.

He watched as the shapeshifter talked with the healer and once the old man left, he stepped inside the hut, much to the boy’s surprise.

 

The child’s blood ran cold when the man finally came out carrying his sister in his hands. He glanced around for a moment before turning around and walking away. “No!” Tomi muttered.

 

Panicking, the boy tore himself away from the window and dashed across the room, barely managing not to step on anybody.

 

He almost fell down the stairs as he hurried to the door and rushed outside. Panting, he ran to the men’s hut and burst in. “Help!” he shouted, startling everyone awake.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“Can’t I get any sleep here!?”

 

“Tomi, what are you doing here?” his dad asked in concern, rubbing his tired eyes.

 

“He’s taking Suki!” Tomi cried out before vanishing in the doorway. Confused, the hunters made their way out and hurried after him. They immediately saw the figure walking to the village wall.

 

“Hey, stop!” one of the men yelled.

 

The man stopped in his track and that’s when everyone got a good look at him.

 

“Wait…Taiko?” Akira murmured in shock while everyone else remained stunned.

 

Tomi’s dad instantly regained his composure and scowled, storming towards him. “Where do you think you’re going with my daughter? Give her back now or I-”

 

“BACK OFF!” Taiko finally turned around and snarled, his voice echoing throughout the village. His teeth looked sharper and his eyes….his eyes were flashing a burning violet light. The humans jerked back in terror.

 

Taiko’s eyes then fell on Tomi and his glare grew brighter, making the child flinch.

 

“W-what is this?” Someone somewhere stammered in fear. “What...what are you?”

 

Taiko placed the six year old girl down and scowled at them as black matter instantly covered him. His size and body shape began to change and grow, much to everyone’s horror.

 

Once the blackness vanished, everyone found themselves standing face-to-face with a massive beast they had never seen before. They were frozen in fear and their limps shook under the creature’s piercing gaze.

 

The beast let out a loud roar and flapped his wings before bringing them together with all his strength. The force behind that was strong enough to knock everyone several feet way.

 

Tomi groaned in pain as he lay in the grass and cracked an eye open to see Taiko change into a human again while keeping his wings. The man then picked up his sister and began taking off into the air.

 

“No, please stop!” the boy cried out, but the shapeshifter was already ascending into the night sky. By now everyone in the village was awake and came to see what was happening.

 

Tomi watched helplessly as the winged man flew away and then took a different direction. The boy blinked and then realized where he was going.

 

The meeting point.

 

 _I have to stop him!_ The boy didn’t realize he was running until he heard the distressed cries behind him, but he didn’t stop. He rushed into the dark forest, nearly tripping several times.

 

Heart pounding in his chest, he struggled to recall where the location was while avoiding tree branches. The sound of beating wings reached his ears and he was quick to follow it.

 

**\--------**

 

Taiko landed on the ground and willed his wings away, sighing in relief. He glanced back at the direction of the village and then began walking away.

 

He couldn’t believe his luck. He finally found the human he had been looking for when he so close to giving up, though he couldn’t tell what was wrong with her. He could sense the essence within her, but it felt so faint.

 

Well, it didn’t matter. She was the human his master had chosen and with her here his mission was completed. Now he could finally go back home and never return to this village again. All of the fear and dread he felt for the past few days finally left him.

 

Taiko grimaced when the girl shifted in his arms and whimpered. He glanced down at her and frowned. Her cheeks were flushed and her forehead was sweaty. The little girl looked beyond uncomfortable, almost as if in pain.

 

Taiko’s brows furrowed as a feeling of uneasiness wormed its way into his heart.

 

_“Well then, tell me. What’s going to happen to the person you’re looking for if you find them? Is something bad going to happen to them? Are they going to be harmed?”_

 

Taiko frantically shook his head. _No, no, knock it off!_ He thought furiously. Why? Why was he hesitating now? This was what he spent the past three weeks looking for, what his master wanted. Didn’t he spend the last three days worrying and fearing of not finding her?

 

 _Stupid boy!_ He thought as he gazed at the girl’s face and felt something in his chest tighten. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t push away the nagging thought at the back of his mind. The thought of what will happen to this kid if he handed her over, the one he saw playing with the other children many times before and carrying around a tattered doll.

 

Suddenly, he heard the sound of beating wings and looked up to see the same two shapeshifters descending down to him.

 

“Here’s the human,” Taiko said, though whenever he had imagined this moment he thought he would be proud and even smug about it, but he didn’t feel like that right now.

 

The woman approached him and knelt down to the girl, placing her hand on the kid’s forehead. She then glanced at the man and nodded.

 

“Well, guess you’re not a complete failure after all,” the man said.

 

“I’m going to let our master know. We need to get her to him right away.” the woman said as she walked further from them and placed her hand over her mask.

 

“Yeah, about that….” Taiko muttered.

 

“What?” the man asked gruffly.

 

“Do we REALLY have to send this kid there?” he asked nervously.

 

“What do you mean? We spent about three weeks waiting for you to find us this human? You should consider yourself lucky that the master won’t punish you for taking so long!” the taller man huffed and reached for the girl only for Taiko to step back from him.

 

“I know, but….would it really make a difference if we took this kid with us? I mean there are many other humans who were selected already,” Taiko asked again while all of his senses were screaming at him to shut up. What was he doing? Why was he asking this?

 

The other man narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously. “Where are you going with this?” he growled, towering over him.

 

Taiko stammered. “N-Nowhere, I’m j-just think that maybe we don’t have to-”

 

“It’s here!” the woman cut him and the two looked up to see a dark sphere descending from the sky. It was hard to make out at first as it hovered down and finally stopped in front of them. It was the size of a person’s fist with a glowing green symbol within it.

 

Just as Taiko took a stepped back, a bright green flash of light engulfed them.

 

Tomi, who was watching the entire time behind a tree, gasped. “No!” He ran over towards the light without thinking and closed his eyes as it blinded him.

 

He couldn’t describe the feeling coursing through his body. It was like moving through water without being able to see. When his vision cleared, the boy found himself lying on a clear white floor.

 

Glancing up, he saw the three shapeshifters standing ahead of him, oblivious to his presence. “Hey!” he growled, catching their attention. They seemed startled to see him, especially Taiko.

 

“Kid!?” Taiko muttered, sounding panicked.

 

“Who are you? How did you get here?” the other man asked.

 

“Give me back my sister!” Tomi shouted, trying to hide his fear with a determined expression as the man scowled and began marching towards him.

 

**“What is the meaning of this?”**

 

Tomi felt a chill go through his spine at the new voice. It was deep and seemed to be coming from everywhere. He glanced around at the clear white room trying to see where it came from. He then noticed the shapeshifters staring at something in the ceiling, but when he followed their gazes his body went rigid.

 

There was a man……floating in the air above them.

 

Tomi rubbed his eyes in disbelieve, unable to comprehend what was he was seeing. The man wore a dark robe with white accents and had smoky black hair, a mane and a thick beard. His skin was deathly pale and there were marks drawn on the visible parts of his hands and legs.

 

But the most terrifying thing about him were his eyes. They were bright green and glowed an unearthly light.

 

“M-master, Taiko came back with the chosen human, b-but this other one followed us!” The man stammered.

 

Their master blinked and turned to gaze at Tomi who gulped in terror. The boy could almost feel his eyes cut right through him and turn his blood to ice. He couldn’t will his legs to move, couldn’t even speak!

 

The pale man’s tattoos then glowed along with his eyes and he raised his hand towards Tomi. **“Human child, you made a mistake coming here.”**

A white shape formed in the man’s hands before shooting towards the boy and hitting him in the chest. Tomi gasped as he felt his body go limp and his vision blurred. The last thing he remembered was hitting the floor before everything darkened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that took an unexpected turn. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. 
> 
> Also, I might draw something for this for fic if I had the time so I let you guys know if I do.


	5. Imprisoned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, here’s the new chapter. I also drew something for this fic. Here’s the link for my deviantart account if you want to see it.
> 
> extremelight9.deviantart.com.

**_“Human child, you made a mistake coming here.”_ **

Tomi’s eyes snapped open and he winced at the pain in his head. For a minute he couldn’t move and lay there on the cold hard floor, unable to will the numbness in his body away.

 

His mind clung onto glimpses of a dream he had. He remembered shadows of people and unearthly green eyes.

 

It wasn’t long until the numbness in his body subsided and he managed to sit up, rubbing his sore head. He felt groggy and disoriented. It was then the memories of what happened last night hit him and his eyes widened.

 

_Suki!_

 

The boy looked around worriedly for his sister and it was then he realized something.

 

He inside a cage!

 

The boy stared at the metal bars in stunned silence for a second before quickly running over, gripping them tightly with both his hands. “No, no, no!” he muttered in panic and screwed his eyes shut as he tried to squeeze himself out, but the bars were too narrow and he could only get his arm out.

_What is this? Where am I!?_ he thought frantically and then immediately regretted looking down.

 

There was a deep misty abyss below him.

 

Tomi gasped and stumbled away from the bars. The cage he was locked in was hanging in the air with nothing to catch him if he stepped out.

_Okay, forget about slipping through._ Tomi thought as he looked around, not knowing what to do. His sister was in the hands of those monsters, but how was he supposed to help her when he was trapped in here?

 

It was then he noticed a small bowl at the corner of the cage filled with fruit and bread.

 

Tomi huffed and looked away. He didn’t trust anything they had to offer to him.

 

Soon minutes passed and the reality of what was really happening began to sink in. Tomi was locked up in a strange place owned by evil monsters who kidnapped him and his sister. He was probably far away from his village and his family were probably beyond worried about him. After all, they watched him run off after the beasts who took Suki and disappeared with them. He couldn’t imagine the fear and pain they were feeling, especially his mom.

 

Tears began welling up in the child’s eyes and he curled up on himself, sniffling quietly. He didn’t know how long he sat in the empty cage alone, but he yelped when the cage began to sway suddenly.

 

“Kid?”

 

Tomi gasped and looked over to see none other Taiko gripping onto the bars, his wings curled up behind his back.

 

Tomi felt both dread and anger fill him. “What do you want?” he huffed, trying to hide the fear he was feeling.

 

An annoyed look crossed the man’s face, but he sighed and composed himself. “I’m here to get you out,” he stated as he reached up to something beyond the boy’s view and the door of the cage opened. The man pushed himself off the bars and flew inside.

 

Tomi quickly backed away from the man, nearly retreating to the corner of the cage. “S-stay back, I’m warning you!” he said scowling, clutching his fists threateningly.

 

Taiko crossed his arms unimpressed. “Kid, your hands are shaking,” he deadpanned. Tomi blushed, realizing this was true.

 

The man sighed. “Kid, I’m not here to hurt you. I’m going to take you back home,”

 

“No, I won’t let you-Wait, what?” Tomi asked, caught off guard.

 

“You’re no use to us, so I’ll fly you back to your village,” Taiko explained and held out his hand to him.

 

“And you expect me to trust you after everything you’ve done!?” Tomi snapped.

 

Taiko rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples in frustration. “Kid, it’s either you come with me or you stay here until our master decides what to do you with you.”

 

The boy stiffened at the mention of the man in the dark robe. He wanted to decline. All of his senses were screaming at him to not believe anything the shapeshifter was saying, but he knew he had no choice.

 

“Fine,” he muttered begrudgingly and slowly stepped closer to Taiko.

 

The man briefly looked unsure of how to get the kid out of the cage, but in the end he grabbed him by the waist and flung him over his shoulder.

 

“Hey!” Tomi exclaimed.

 

“Stay still,” Taiko huffed as he stepped out of the cage and after a moment of hesitation, he jumped into the air.

 

Tomi screamed and screwed his eyes shut, but then he opened them when he realized they were ascending instead of falling. Taiko was flying them up to a platform.

 

The boy felt his fear rise at the thought of the abyss below and instead he focused his gaze on the cage he was previously locked up in, but that turned out to be a bad idea too.

 

The cage was dangling by a chain and he can now see they were more cages above it. He could almost see skeletons in them, but he quickly decided to blame his tired mind for that.  

 

Finally, Taiko landed on the ground and placed the boy down. “Alright, if we leave now we’ll probably make it there by noon. I’ll dropped you off at the edge of the forest and-oof!”

 

Taiko felt the wind get knocked out of him and his eyes nearly bulged as a fist slammed into his torso. He fell to his knees and looked up just in time to see the kid running away.

 

“Kid!” he wheezed as he picked up himself and limped after him.

 

**\-------**

 

Tomi ran as fast he could away from the beast and down the path. Many stone buildings were towering over him of which the likes he had never seen, but he didn’t waste any time gawking at his new surroundings. He needed to get away and find his sister.

 

It wasn’t long until he made it out of the buildings and reached a pathway. The boy’s intention was to get an idea on where he was so he’ll know where to go when they’ll eventually escape, but what he saw made his mind go blank.

 

The ground was a mile away from where he was. Someway, somehow…this city was floating in the air. He could see birds flying below along with a massive crater directly beneath the city.

 

What…what’s going? The boy’s knees nearly buckled and he felt his head spin. None of this was real. It couldn’t be. He must be dreaming. Yes, that must be it!

 

Tomi closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. _I want to wake up. Please wake up!_

 

Just then, Tomi felt something grab his shirt from behind and he yelped when he was pulled up to meet Taiko’s angry gaze.

 

“L-let me go!”

 

“Oh, so you can run off again?” the man asked with a raised brow.

 

“Where am I? What is this place?” the boy asked once he stopped struggling to escape.

 

“If you must know, this place is my home.” He answered, gesturing to the city around him. “We call it the Nest.”

 

“Now, are you going to be reasonable and let me carry back to your village or not?” Taiko muttered impatiently.

 

“Not without my sister!” Tomi snapped. “Give her back!”

 

“Hey, I don’t have the girl with me,” he replied, holding his hand out defensively. “My job was to find the chosen human and bring them here. That’s it.”

 

“Then where is she? Is she okay? What are you guys doing to her?” Tomi asked frantically. He still recalled what the man told him about what happens to the chosen person if they were found.

 

“Calm down. She is fine. Your sister is a….weird case,”

 

Tomi raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

 

**_Last Night_ **

**“Something is wrong with this child,”** their master said once he finished inspecting the girl.

 

“What?” Taiko muttered in surprise.

 

“You mean….she’s not the chosen one?” the man behind him asked glaring at Taiko, and for one terrifying moment Taiko thought he made a mistake.

 

To his relief, his master shook his head as his green eyes trailed over the human child. **“No, she is the one, but…the essence within her is quite weak, faint.”**

 

Taiko frowned. “Well….the symptoms began showing in her just today from what I learned, master.”

 

The man rubbed his chin in thought. **“I see.”** He murmured and Taiko couldn’t suppress the shiver he felt when those unearthly eyes met his. Even though he had been in the presence of their master many times before, he still felt a chill just being anywhere near him.

 

“What does this mean?” The woman behind Taiko asked.

 

 **“It means she is not ready yet. I want you to put her in the sleeping chambers until she is,”** he said and turned away. “ **If I have to guess, we’ll have to wait two more days before it’s time.”**

 

Taiko frowned and glanced down at the child in uncertainty.

 

**_Now_ **

 

Tomi’s brows furrowed as he took all of this in. “So that means….I still have time to save her!” he exclaimed in relief.

 

Taiko slapped his forehead. “You can’t be serious. If the guards or my master find you then you’ll be done for-”

 

But Tomi wasn’t listening to him and began walking away.

 

“Hey, where are you going!?” Taiko called out as he walked after him.

 

“To save Suki,” Tomi muttered without stopping.

 

Taiko gaped at him. “Kid, weren’t you listening to anything I’ve been telling you? It’s dangerous for you out there! Do you even know where she is?”

 

“I don’t, but I’m not going to let that stop me from finding her!” Tomi replied.

 

Taiko wanted to groan. He couldn’t believe it. Yesterday he had been so excited about finishing his mission so he could leave that village and never see this brat again yet here he was being a thorn in his side _again!_

 

Taiko gritted his teeth and finally snapped. “WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM!?” he growled, causing the boy to stop in his tracks in surprise. “Why do you always have to make everything difficult for me? Why do you have to be so _stubborn_? Do you have any idea how much trouble I’m going to be in if anybody found out that I got you out of that cage? I’m actually going out of my way to help you get back home and you’re being an ungrateful little brat about it!”

 

That made Tomi stared at him in disbelief. “What? YOU’RE the reason why I’m stuck here in the first place!” he snapped back.

 

Taiko huffed and crossed his arms. “Well, this wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t stick your nose where it didn’t belong and stayed out of my way!”

 

Tomi scowled. “Oh, so you were expecting me to let you take my sister away and harm her?”

 

The man groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Oh there you go again trying to paint me as the bad guy here. How many times do I have to tell that I’m just doing my job just like everybody else in my kind? Do you have any idea what kind of punishments my master has for those who refuse to do their job? I don’t have a choice here!”

 

“So you would trick so many innocent people and kidnap a six year old girl just to save yourself!?” Tomi muttered incredulously.

 

Immediately, all the anger the man was feeling vanished at this and he opened his mouth to defend himself, but no words came out. “I...”

 

Tomi growled under his breath and stormed away, leaving the man alone on the pathway.

 

Taiko didn’t try to follow him.

 

**\---------**

 

Tomi silently fumed as he made his way through the city, trying his best to make sure he wasn’t spotted by anybody and also block out any thoughts of Taiko. There were shapeshifters everywhere he looked talking and going about their day. All of them were wearing grey clothes similar to Taiko’s. However, they kept their masks strapped to their heads or carried them around in their waists.

 

Tomi’s frowned nervously. He needed to find those “sleeping chambers” quickly so he and his sister could get out of this place.

 

Just as he was about to leave his hiding spot, he felt a hand grab the collar of his shirt. Tomi scowled and turned to glare at Taiko only to freeze up when he saw it wasn’t him.

 

It was a man in armor with glowing eyes. “Where do you think you’re going, boy?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you thought of the drawing if you checked it out! :)


	6. What You Were

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, sorry this chapter too so long. I was busy with college. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.

“Let me go!”

 

“No,” the man in the armor said solemnly. “Stop asking that,”

 

Tomi growled as the man continued pulling him through the city by the hand. The child didn’t stop struggling. No, he can’t go back to that cage again. He had to find to his sister!

 

However, he slowly became aware of the fact that he was attracting attention from all the people nearby. He stopped trying to get away, realizing that trying to escape with all these shapeshifters around will not end well for him. The last thing he needed was get on their bad aside and anger them.

 

Soon enough, the man stopped in front of a building and knocked on the door. The boy gulped nervously, fearing what was awaiting him inside.

 

Just then, the door opened and a lady came out. “Oh hello, how can I help you?” she asked.

 

“I found this boy wandering the city,” he said, pushing Tomi forward a little harsher than he should had.

 

“Oh, thank you. I’ll make sure he doesn’t sneak out again,” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her cheeks.

 

The man stared at her for a moment and then nodded before turning away.

 

The woman then sighed and took the boy inside, closing the door behind her. “You really shouldn’t running off like. You’ll get into so much trouble if you try to avoid coming here again,” she said firmly, placing her hands on her hips.

 

“S-sorry,” he replied, not knowing what else to say.

 

The woman sighed again and led him forward. “Let’s just get you back with the others,”

 

Stepping inside a large a room, Tomi found himself standing a room filled with kids, most of them were his age. He stiffened when all eyes fell on him.

 

“Wait, I don’t recall seeing you here before. What’s your name?” the woman asked and the boy’s eyes widened.

 

They…they really don’t know who he was?

 

“My…my name is Tomi,” he answered.

 

The lady frowned, but didn’t ask any further. “All right, please go find a place for yourself,”

 

Looking at the group of children uncertainly, Tomi made his over and sat at the corner of the room.

 

“Hey, why are his clothes different?” one boy suddenly asked. Everyone in the room except him was wearing grey with similar design. He stood out a like a sore thumb among them.

 

Tomi stiffened and raked his mind for an excuse. “Uh…uh my other clothes are dirty!” he stammered.

 

That seemed to satisfy most of them and they turned their attention to the woman.

 

When the woman began speaking again, the boy realized she was a teacher of some sort. She began telling them about the city and the “surface” world, with the latter being what captivated the kids’ attention the most.

 

Tomi was fidgeting in his spot anxiously. When will this end? He didn’t have time for this. He needed to get out of here now!

 

He opened his mouth and then closed it shut. He wouldn’t be surprised if the lady refused letting him out considering he was already got skipping this session. Groaning internally, he placed his cheek on his hand and continued listening to the woman talk for what felt like hours.

 

“Alright, that’s enough for today!”

 

Tomi snapped out of his trance and blinked up at the woman. _Wait, it’s over?_ He thought, beyond relieved.

 

Watching the other kids head for the door, Tomi began walking after them and nearly shrieked when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

 

“Just a moment, child,” the woman said and the boy turned to her stiffly. “You mustn’t skip anymore sessions from now. If you were caught one more time you’ll be in big trouble. Do you understand?”

 

“Oh, of course. I’ll come here every day on time!” Tomi replied cheerfully and then turned away. “You won’t see me here again,” he murmured under his breath.

 

“What was that?” she asked with a raised brow, making the boy blanch.

 

“Nothing!” she stammered nervously and made a dash to the door. _How did she hear that!?_ He thought, terrified.

Once he was outside, he sighed in relief and looked up to see a group of kids chattering together.

 

“…I can’t wait until I’m old enough to go see the surface!” One boy muttered.

 

“Yeah, what do you think it’s like?” a girl beside asked.

 

“I can only imagine, but it sounds amazing!” he replied with a grin.

 

Tomi frowned in thought. Based on everything he gathered so far, children weren’t allowed to leave this floating city. Why though? “Um…excuse me?” Tomi spoke up, getting the attention of the five kids.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Well…I was wondering if you guys can tell me where the sleeping chambers are?” he asked cautiously, hoping they won’t be suspicious of his intentions. To his surprise, he was met with confused looks.

 

“The sleeping chambers? What’s that?” a boy slightly taller than Tomi asked.

 

“Wait, you mean don’t know about it?” Tomi asked, taken aback. How come they don’t know about them? They were living all their lives in this city, weren’t they?

 

“Well, no. I’ve never heard of a place like that.” The girl with braided hair answered, rubbing her chin in thought. “Do you?” she turned to her friends who shook their head. “Where exactly did you hear about it?”

 

Tomi tensed up. “Uh…I heard one of the adults mention them earlier this morning,”

 

“Aw, it’s not fair. Grown-ups get to know so many things!” Another kid sitting on a rock groaned, slumping. “Anyway, who wants to head to the play grounds?” He asked and, much to Tomi’s surprise, a pair of feathery wings sprouted from his back as he stood up.

 

The other kids cheered and the same thing happened to them. Tomi watched in awe as they began racing to the edge of a broken bridge and took off into the air.

 

While the other kids flew away, the same girl remained and looked down at him. “Aren’t you coming?”

 

The boy froze up. “I…I actually have something to do…somewhere. Um, see you later!”

 

With that, the boy ran the other direction, feeling his face heat in embarrassment. Great, as if he didn’t attract enough bad attention to himself today. However….those kids were a lot nicer than expected them to be. They weren’t horrible jerks like Taiko. Why?

 

 _No!_ Shaking his head, Tomi slapped both of his cheeks. No, he couldn’t let himself be fooled. These are the same creatures who kidnapped his sister and probably many other humans before. Besides, they were only nice to him because they thought he was one of them.  

 

He needed to focus. He wasted enough time in that class when he could had spent them searching.  Looking around, the boy took off again. He spent several hours running around and listening in on conversations, hoping someone would mention the place where his sister was kept, but it never came up.

 

It wasn’t long until he grew tired and stopped in the middle of a bridge connecting to platforms. “Where is it?” he groaned in frustration. This place was like a labyrinth. How anyone knew their way around here was beyond them.

 

Suddenly, there was a loud roar in the sky, sending a shiver down the boy’s spine. Looking up, he saw several beasts flying over him.

 

Tomi knew Taiko wasn’t the only who he could do that, knew that he was stranded in the nest of all these massive creatures, but the mere sight of so many of them rendered him speechless and his legs refused to move at first.

 

Panicking, he scrambled away into the nearest hiding place he could see. When he looked around, he realized he was in a garden. There were trees and flowers everywhere along with marble pillars and a pool in the center.

 

Looking around in awe, he suddenly spotted something dangling from one of the trees. It looked like a decoration of some kind with random items tied to the strings, but what caught the boy’s attention the most was the one in the middle. An eye.

 

It was yellow, purple and red, and from what he can see it was made of glass. “Whoa!” The child grinned and looked around briefly to make sure he was alone before rubbing his hands together and climbing the tree.

 

Once he made to the right branch, he pulled up the string and got a hold of the eye. It was quite pretty, but something eerie felt about it, like as if something was staring back at him from within it.

 

Shrugging the feeling away, the boy stuffed the new found item in his shirt and began moving back, but his grip on the branch suddenly slipped and he lost his balance.

 

He cried out just before hit the ground, losing his consciousness.

 

**\---------**

Slowly, the boy’s eyes opened again and he groaned, feeling his head aching. He can hear the cackling of fire somewhere.

 

“Finally, I was beginning to think you won’t wake up,”

 

Gasping, Tomi pulled himself to see the last person he wanted to see right now.

 

“I’m going to assume things didn’t go well on your little _adventure_ ,” Taiko said as poked the fire with a stick.

 

The boy was about to snap back at him only to remember something. “Hold on, where are we?” he asked, looking around at the crumbled building towering above them and the wall surrounding it. There were some bushes and a tree nearby too.

 

“Calm down. I was passing by a garden and caught your scent there,” he said, tapping his own nose. “So, what happened? What knocked you out?”

 

Tomi’s face heated up and he looked away. “That’s not important,”

 

The man frowned. “Kid, come on. I need to know what happened. Whatever attacked you might be a threat to everyone here. So quit being stubborn and tell me-”

 

“I wasn’t attacked, okay? I fell down a tree!” Tomi snapped in annoyance only to close his mouth shut, realize what he did far too late.

 

Taiko stared at the boy for a minute before bursting into laughter, clutching his stomach.

 

“It’s not that funny” Tomi deadpanned.

 

“I-it is,” Taiko replied through his chuckles.

 

“I’m leaving,” The boy stood up and began walking away.

 

Taiko regained his composure and called out. “I wouldn’t recommend it, kid.”

 

Tomi rolled his eyes and pulled himself up the wall, freezing up immediately at the sight of the guards in the distance. Their eyes were glowing an eerie light in the darkness as they patrolled the city.

 

Tomi dropped to the ground and walked back at the grinning shape-shifter, sitting down again with a grumble.

 

“Here,”

 

The boy blinked when the man held something out for him. It was a piece of meat. “Why are you giving me this?” he asked with a raised brow.

 

Taiko rolled his eyes. “Kid, you’ve been knocked out for hours and I know for a fact that you didn’t eat the food we left you in the cage this morning,”

 

“I’m doing just fine,” The boy said, but when the smell reached his nose, his stomach let out a loud rumble, much to his embarrassment. Huffing, he snatched the piece of meat from the man, ignoring the smug grin on his face.

 

He hesitated briefly before taking a bite. Nothing about it tasted off about it as far as he could tell.

 

“Kid, listen. Even if you find your sister, how are you going to get off this city? Or even escape my master? Believe it or not, I’m actually trying to help you,” Taiko said impatiently.

 

Tomi glared at him. “If you really wanted to help me then you would help me find my sister since it’s your fault she’s in danger!”

 

“Are you crazy? Everyone in the Nest will be out to get me just if they found out I freed you!” he muttered, crossing his arms.

 

The boy’s scowl deepened, but there was also something else in his eyes. He almost looked disappointed in him, but it quickly disappeared and he looked away.

 

The man sighed and rubbed his temples. This was getting him nowhere. He needed to convince this kid to leave, but it was almost impossible for the two of them to have a single conversation without arguing about something.

 

“Kid, _please_. You have to trust me. The more time you spend in this city, the more danger you’ll be in,” Taiko said tiredly.

 

Tomi stood up and glared at him. “And why I should believe anything you say after all the terrible things you’ve done to my village?”

 

“Okay, can you stop reminding me over and over of what I did and didn’t do? It’s getting old,” the man growled, losing his patience. “Besides, why are you making such a big deal about that? I didn’t hurt them that badly and they’ll probably fine right now,”

 

“Why-“ the boy’s shoulders shook in anger briefly, but then it faded and his face fell in defeat. “Before you came to our village, everything had been terrible,”

 

The man blinked.

 

“We didn’t have much food and winter was fast approaching. Nobody wanted to say it, but a lot of people thought we’re going to starve,” the boy explained quietly. “But then you showed up and you gave everyone hope. You made everything better. Everyone looked up at you and admired you…so much to the point where they will trust you despite everything I was telling them about you.”

 

“To them you were a hero….you-” he swallowed the lump in his throat and averted his gaze to the ground. “….you used to be my hero too,”

 

Turning away from the bewildered man, the boy lay on the grass and closed his eyes, hoping for sleep to come.

 

**\----------**

 

The man stared blankly at the ground, having a hard time processing what he just heard. Hugging his knees, he glanced over to the sleeping child. Memories of the time he spent in the human village flashed in his mind and he felt his chest grow heavy as he remembered the way they treated him along with everything he had done in the past.  

 

He then turned to stare at the fire, the child’s words ringing in his mind.

 

_“You used to be my hero too,”_

He tried to block out his words and the look on his face when he admitted that, but to no avail. The guilt and the doubts that he spent so long ignoring came crashing down on him. He tried to tell himself that he had no choice in all of this and that this was what his master wanted, but the shame from his past actions and all the humans he kidnapped wouldn't go away. Maybe….maybe he had been wrong. Maybe he really was the bad guy in all of this just like the boy believed and after everything that he learned, the boy probably saw him and the rest of his kind as irredeemable monsters.

 

Taiko wouldn’t really blame him if he did.

 

Just then, there was a cool breeze in the air and Tomi shivered, curling up on himself. A wing sprouted out of Taiko’s side and he placed it over him. The boy’s shivering stopped.

 

“I’m sorry, kid,” Taiko murmured. “Goodnight,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. It seems there is finally some progress in Tomi and Taiko’s relationship. Also, I think there are probably three or four chapters left in this story.


	7. City in the Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m finally back with a new chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

Three men were making their way to the imprisonment area. Two were masked men while the third was a knight carrying a sword.

 

“Finally, I was wondering when we will get something to do,” one of them said.

 

“What will our master do with the human though?” the second asked gruffly.

 

He shrugged. “How would I know? But if you want to know what I think-”

 

“Enough talking!” The knight snapped. “Fetch the child,”

 

“Alright, alright,” the shapeshifter muttered in annoyance. Black mist came out of their backs to form their wings and the two flew down to one of the hanging cages.

 

“Hey, human! It’s time to get-” the man trailed off at the sight of the empty cage.

**\--------**

Tomi slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around to see he was still in the same place he slept in last night. There was nothing but ash remaining from the fire.

 

Blinking away the sleepiness, he also saw that Taiko was gone. Memories of last night came back to him and he groaned, throwing himself back onto the grass.

 

He buried his face in his hands as he recalled the conversation they had. “Ugh! Why did I admit that to him?” he muttered, feeling beyond stupid. The man was probably somewhere laughing at how far the boy fallen for his deception when they were at the village.

 

Sighing, he pulled himself up again and turned to the wall, suddenly noticing something he didn’t recall seeing last night. There were drawings on the wall. They were quite old and he could barely make out some of them. He brushed the dusty surface with his hand and narrowed his eyes to get a better look.

 

There were people, or at least that’s what he assumed the faded black silhouettes were. They were gathered around a person floating in the air and right above him was a-

 

Tomi frowned and took out the glass eye, briefly glad that Taiko hadn’t found it with him. He held out the eye near the shape to see they matched. He lowered the eye and stared at the painting in wonder.

 

What did this mean? What was so significant about that shape?

 

Turning away from the painting on the wall, the boy walked out of the narrow pathway and made it to the edge. He stared blankly at the buildings and towers glaring down at him.  

 

What was he supposed to do? _Where_ was he supposed to go? It might take him weeks before he found his way around here, but he didn’t have that much time to search the city either.

 

He had only one day left.

 

Gulping, he gazed down at the surface far below. Even if he, someway, somehow, managed to find out where they kept his sister, how was he going to get them out of here? Was their village even nearby? For all he knew, they might be thousands of miles away from home.

 

Tears of frustration began welling up in the boy’s eyes as he fought to stay hopeful despite everything.

 

“Hey, you there!”

 

Tomi stiffened and turned to see two knights marching toward him. He tried to hide his panic with a strained smile.

 

“H-hi, is there something I can help you with?” he asked innocently.

 

“You can drop the act. We know who you are, boy,” the knight said and the child paled. “I’m not sure how you got out of your cage, but you’ve wandered around long enough,”

 

“The Master wants to see you, so come over and don’t make this harder for yourself,” the other man added.

 

Tomi gulped nervously as the two stepped closer. His eyes then widened and he gasped. “Wait, what are you doing here?”

 

The two knights paused and looked back to see who he was talking to, but saw nobody. They turned just in time to see a blur of white and black disappearing around the corner.

 

“You little- Come back now!” the knight yelled as they ran after the boy. While they chased him, he placed his hand on his helmet, causing the horns on them to glow.

 

Tomi meanwhile glanced back and saw the knights weren’t really fast, probably because of the heavy armor they were wearing. He almost felt relieved by that only to yelp when a ball of light flew over his shoulder.

 

Looking back in surprise, he saw the two knights creating signs with their hands and orbs of light formed around them before shooting toward him.

 

Panicking, he tried to evade it, but couldn’t. One of the orbs struck his arm and it went limp on his side, much to his horror.

 

 _I can’t move it!_ He thought, terrified as he tried to shake the numbness away. He turned around the corner and saw crowds of people walking about. The boy quickly rushed through them, muttering apologies at every person he pushed past and nearly ran into in his haste. “Excuse me, sorry!”

 

He reached the city plaza and looked around, paling when he saw more guards were coming after him now. Two tried to grab him and he quickly rolled out of the way, causing them to collide and fall over.

 

Panting, the child pulled himself up with his still moving hand and started running again as more orbs flew over his head.

 

He was running by some buildings when a strong hand suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him into a dark alley. Something wrapped around him preventing him from moving and a hand clapped over his mouth. Frightened, he struggled to escape, but the person didn’t loosen their grip on him.

 

“Kid, calm down. It’s me,” the familiar voice of Taiko came.

 

 _How is that supposed to make me feel better!?_ Tomi thought frantically, but stopped struggling when the sound of the guards reached his ears. He heard their heavy footsteps get closer to the alley and his heart pounded violently in his chest. Soon enough, their murmurs grew fainter until he could no longer hear them.

 

Taiko seemed to be listening in case someone was still nearby and let him go once he deemed it safe.

 

“Phew, you really know how to avoid trouble, you know that?” the man said sarcastically.

 

The boy ignored him as he inspected his numb arm. The man seemed to notice this and asked. “What happened, kid?”

 

“The guards attacked me with some kind of…magic and now I can’t move it!” the boy said anxiously.  

 

“Oh, then you got nothing to worry about. They use that to keep someone from running away and capture them easily. It will go away soon,” Taiko answered.

 

The boy sighed in relief, but then stepped away from him warily when he remembered who he was standing with. “Why are you here? Are you going to take me away too?”

 

The man sighed. “Kid, if I that’s what I came here for then I wouldn’t have saved you in the first place,” he said.

 

“Then why did you do it?”

 

The man shrugged without giving him an answer. “So, you’re still planning on heading to the sleeping chambers?” the man asked offhandedly.

 

“Of course I am!” Tomi exclaimed to him stubbornly and turned away, not knowing that he was heading in the wrong direction. The man sighed and spoke up.

 

“I’ll help you,”

 

That got the boy to freeze up and turned to him with wide eyes. “What?”

 

“I’ll show you where the sleeping chambers are,” Taiko replied.

 

“Really!?” Tomi asked, but his excitement died almost immediately and he glared suspiciously at the man. “Why would you do that?”

 

The man rolled his eyes. “Because I got tired of watching you running around pointlessly like this,”

 

Tomi glared at him. He really didn’t want to accept. Taiko was the last person he wanted help from considering he was the one who got him and his sister into this mess in the first place, but….what choice did have? The more time he wasted, the weaker the chance of saving his sister grew.

 

“Fine,” Tomi said.

 

“Alright, now let’s-”

 

“But,” Tomi cut him off with a cold glare. “If they did anything to my sister, I will **_never_** forgive you,” he muttered and walked away.

 

The man stood there for a moment before sighing and walking after him.

 

What had he got himself into?

 

**\--------**

 

“So, where is that place?” Tomi asked as they walked on a bridge over some gardens.

 

“They’re on the other side of the city in the north. We’ll get there in two hours by foot,” Taiko answered. Tomi hummed as he absorbed this in formation.

 

“Though, we need to do something about that,” he added.

 

Tomi stopped and looked at him. “About what?”

 

“We can’t have you walking around like that. All the guards probably know what you look like by now,” the man explained.

 

“Then what am I supposed to do?” the boy muttered.

 

Taiko thought about it. “Well, I could give you my mask to wear.” He reached for his waist and grabbed the mask hanging there, holding it out for the boy.

 

The boy shuddered at the sight of the horned mask. He still got that odd feeling when staring at it and it made his skin crawl. “No, I don’t to wear that,”

 

“Fine, it wouldn’t have worked anyway. Kids aren’t allowed to wear these,” Taiko shrugged and put it back. “I can’t fly you there because that will surely attract attention. You know, if you let me I could transform into my beastly form and fly you to the chambers in my stomach,”

 

Tomi stared at him for a moment slack jawed before finding his voice. “Eww, _NO!_ ” he exclaimed, shuddering.

 

Taiko sighed in frustration. “Then how about you come up with something instead of shooting down my ideas.”

 

Tomi crossed his arms in thought. “I don’t know. How do I stop them from recognizing me?”

 

“How about you start with your clothes,” Taiko said, pointing at his white, orange and black attire. “With all of us wearing grey and black, you really stand out like a sore thumb.”

 

The child frowned. “Okay…..but where will I get new clothes?”

 

Taiko rubbed his neck and looked around until he saw a laundry line between two buildings with some clothes hanging on them. The man smirked.

 

“I’ll be right back,” His wings sprouted on his back and he took off into the air. He hovered close to the line and grabbed a shirt before descending back to the child. “Here,”

 

Tomi hesitantly took the grey shirt and inspected it, frowning at the big brown stain near the collar. He slowly put it on and grimaced when he saw it was almost reaching his knees, obviously belonging to an older man.

 

“It looks great on you,” Taiko remarked and Tomi glared at him, catching the mirth in his voice.

 

“It’s not so bad I guess,” Tomi sighed as he looked at himself. It least now he could blend in with everyone. “Let’s go, we don’t have time to los-” the boy fell silent when his stomach made loud rumble, causing him to blush.

 

“It seems someone hadn’t had their breakfast yet,” Taiko muttered with a smirk. “I’m kind of hungry myself. Let’s go find something to eat,” he said and began to walk ahead.

 

“No, we have to keep moving!” Tomi protested as he ran after him.

 

“You say that, but that’s not what your stomach wants,” the man teased.

 

“What my stomach wants doesn’t matter,” Tomi grumbled and his stomach made another noise causing him to groan. “Alright, fine. Let’s just hurry,”

 

The two made their way through the city until they reached a place where many colorful stands were set. Taiko made his way to one of them and greeted the old man there.

 

“Oh, hello! You haven’t came by in a while,” he said with smile.

 

“I was just on long mission,” Taiko shrugged, grinning. “Two buns, please,” he asked, while Tomi waited behind him with his arms crossed.

 

“Here you go,” the old man offered him the food and then noticed the boy wearing the oversized shirt. “Well, aren’t you a cute little guy,” he said. Tomi’s face burned and he looked away immediately. “Who is he?”

 

Taiko paused and exchanged a look with Tomi before turning to the old man. “Uh….he’s my little brother!” he answered, ruffling the boy’s hair. Tomi glared at him, but didn’t move away while the man was grinning widely. “Anyway, we should be going now,”

 

“Oh, right. I hope you have a good day,” the old man smiled and the two hurried away.

 

Tomi looked down at the bun in his hands. It seemed to be bread with something sweet and sticky covering it. He looked up to see the shapeshifter already munching on his own and frowned. He still had no idea if the food in this place could be harmful for him. It wasn’t made for humans after all. Hesitating, the boy took a bite and swallowed.

 

It…wasn’t really that bad. A little too chewy for his liking, but he found himself taking another bite. Glancing around while eating, Tomi noticed something that made him stop.

 

“What are those two doing up there?” he asked, pointing at the two people standing on the edge of the large building.

 

Taiko followed his gaze and hummed. “They’re sentinels. They are stationed there to keep watch,”

 

Tomi frowned. “But what about the armored men? Isn’t that what they do?”

 

“Well, it is in a way, but my kind are much more powerful. We deal with whatever that can put the city in great danger,”

 

“You’re not doing that,” the child pointed out.

 

“Because I’m not a sentinel,” Taiko shrugged and bit into his bun. “When we reach a certain age, we are given a certain role that we’re expected to fulfill. Guarding the towers and temples in the city is one of them. There are also the scouts who search the surface and bring supplies to the Nest, and finally there are the seekers, which is what I am. We are sent to infiltrate human settlements without being discovered and bring….you know,” the man trailed, leaving his words hanging in the air.  

 

Tomi’s eyes widened. So this wasn’t the only instance where a shapeshifter snuck into a village to kidnap someone. It had occurred many times before. He gulped, not knowing what to do with the information he just learned.

 

  **XXXXXXXXXX**

 

Taiko noticed the boy distancing himself from him and the man wanted to kick himself. Why did he tell him that? Wasn’t he trying to get the kid to trust him?

 

“Stop!”

 

The man and child jerked back at the voice and turned to see a knight marching over to them.

 

“Um…hello there. How can I help you?” Taiko asked tensely.

 

“There is a human child hiding in the city. I was given the task to search among every child to find him,” the knight said, his voice cold and detached. It sent a shiver down their spines.

 

“Well, you don’t have to worry. My little brother here is no way a human!” Taiko laughed nervously.

 

“Then prove it,”

 

“What?” Taiko sputtered, his fake smile falling.

 

“Prove that he is not a human. It shouldn’t be difficult since you _are_ telling the truth, correct? Just know that the punishment for harboring a human is quite severe,”

 

Taiko felt his blood run cold and his heart hammered against his chest. What we’re they going to do? How was he supposed to prove the kid was a shapeshifter?

 

“I go to school here,”

 

The two looked down at the boy who was grinning innocently at them. “It’s quite crowded and the lady who teaches there kind of scares me, but I like it because we get to learn about the surface!”

 

Taiko stood there stiffly as the kid continued rambling about the school that he shouldn’t know about.

 

“Hmm, alright. That’s enough,” the knight said and began walking away.

 

Taiko rubbed his head as he tried to process what just happened. “I can’t believe you randomly lied your way out of that,”

 

“Actually….it wasn’t completely a lie. Yesterday before you found me, I was taken to the shapeshifter school,” Tomi shrugged.

 

“What!?” Taiko gaped.

 

“Come on, we need to hurry!” Tomi muttered and ran on ahead without so much as an explanation.

 

“Wait, hold on!” Taiko called out, but the boy made no sign of hearing him. Sighing in defeat, the shapeshifter walked after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. These two are so snarky and I love it!


	8. Of Truths and Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. It’s been a while since the last update, but I’m glad I managed to finish this despite how busy I was. 
> 
> Heads up, there is a lot of angst in this chapter!

“Over there!”

 

Tomi blinked and squinted at where the man was pointing to see a large building in the distance.

 

“That’s where we are going,” Taiko explained. Tomi nodded quietly as they walked over the stone bridge. A massive tree was stuck to the structure on their right. The boy wondered briefly how it grew like that.

 

Suddenly, Taiko stiffened and his ears picked up on something. “Look out!” he quickly pulled the child out of the just as a spear nearly hit him.

 

The two looked up to see two winged men flying over them.

 

“So, you’re the one who freed the human,” the man asked solemnly. “You do realize the severity of what you did, right?”

 

Taiko gritted his teeth, standing between them and the boy.

 

“Look, if you hand over the kid nice and easy then our master might reconsider your punishment. How about that?” he asked with a long smile, but Taiko could see right through it.

 

“Kid, run,” he whispered without removing his eyes on the two.

 

“What?”

 

“Just do it!” Taiko snapped. Startled, the boy complied and ran away as fast as he could.

 

The two shapeshifters dove after him, but Taiko called for his wings and crashed into them. One man landed on the hard ground while the other remained.

 

“Fine, you asked for this!” The man snarled and black matter covered his hands briefly before turning into claws. With an inhuman growl, he lunged at Taiko.

 

Tomi meanwhile was running across the bridge, trying to ignore the noises behind him. The building where the sleeping chambers were was just in sight.

 

Just then before he could reach the end of the bridge, several knights came around the corner and stood in his way.

 

“Stop right there!” their leader exclaimed, while the others had their weapons drawn. Seeing no other way to get past them, he was about to run back to Taiko only to lose feeling in his leg momentarily and falling on the ground.

 

He immediately recognized the feeling of numbness and tried to pull himself up, but one of the knights had already hurried over and grabbed him. The boy cried out and struggled to get away.

 

“Let….go of me!”

 

“Ugh, enough!” the man in armor growled as he tried to keep hold of the human, but the child threw his weight back and caught the man by surprise, causing him to drop him on the ground.

 

Picking himself up, he backed to the edge of the bridge.

 

“You have nowhere to run. Surrender quietly,” the leader said stoically. The boy knew he couldn’t let them capture him. If they did, then they’ll send him back to that cage and his sister’s life will be in danger. He couldn’t let them have him.

 

Looking back to see the endless drop, the boy gulped and knew what he was about to do was beyond stupid.

 

“No,” was all he said before turning around and jumping off the edge, shocking everyone.

 

“Kid, no!” Taiko exclaimed.

Tomi cried out as he fell through the air, feeling his heart skipping a beat. He reached out for one of the roots of the giant tree and managed to grab onto it.

 

Tomi clutched the tree root tightly in fear as he felt himself suspended in the air. He didn’t dare to look down. Instead, he forced himself to start climbing up.

 

The knights began shooting their light orbs at him from their spot on the bridge. Tomi cried and nearly lost his grip as moved his head away to avoid getting hit by one. _If I get hit by one of those I’ll probably fall off._ He thought dreadfully.

 

The knights seemed to realize this as well and their leader told them to stop. “Our master wants him alive!” he reminded them.

 

But why? Tomi couldn’t understand why they would want him. They only wanted his sister. He was something they didn’t expect to follow them here. Why use did he have for them?

 

The child stopped climbing to watch Taiko fight the masked man. Taiko, who now had a tear in his shirt, moved to the side when the man slashed at him with claws and grabbed onto him, pushing him through the air until they hit a wall.

 

Looking away from the fight, Tomi continued climbing until he finally reached a balcony and jumped off a branch. Panting, he looked back down to see the knights disperse, probably searching for a way up to him.

 

It was then the boy noticed something. The other man that Taiko had knocked away was nowhere to be seen, but he was too late to notice that as he felt someone standing right behind him.

 

“Got you!” the man exclaimed in triumph, grabbing the boy and lifting him up by the waist. “Just wait until my master sees this. He will reward me for sure- hold on!”

 

The man blinked and squinted at the boy’s attire, noting the large stain on it. “This is my shirt!”

 

“Then take it!” Tomi muttered and managed to slip out of the shirt, punching the man in the gut once he landed on the ground. While the man was gasping for air, the child sprinted away.

 

 _It works every time._ Tomi thought with a grin. The child then entered a forest area. There was a large statue of a winged beast standing in the clear. It looked majestic in a way, but the boy didn’t have to time to observe it as the sound of metallic footsteps in the distance reached his ears. The knights! He rushed through the trees until he ended up at a cliff. There was nothing but the view of the surface below when he looked down.

 

“No, no, no!” The child turned to see the knights have caught up to him.

 

“Where are you going to try to run now, boy?” one of the knights taunted, pointing the tip of his spear at him.

 

“What do you want from me?” the boy asked, hoping to buy time.

 

But the leader saw through it and motioned for the other knights. “Seize him,”

 

The knights put their hands together and light orbs began materializing around them.   

 

“N-no, wait!” Tomi muttered and shielded himself.

 

Just then, a loud roar shook the air and the knights halted what they were doing. Everyone looked up at the sky to see a dark silhouette coming toward them. The ground shook when it landed on the ground and knocked everyone off their feet.

 

When Tomi looked up, he saw the massive figure of a winged creature standing in front of him. The knights on the other side found themselves staring at vicious, violet eyes glaring down at them.

 

Without much as give them a chance to react, the beast brought his wings together and blew the squad of men away. The ground underneath them suddenly began to give away under their weight. The knights scrambled to get away.

 

The beast quickly turned to the frightened boy. Tomi cried when it leaned down and grabbed the collar of his shirt before jumping onto a pillar. They didn’t have time to rest as it began to break as well. Wasting no time, the beast took off into the air and spread his wings wide.  

 

Tomi screamed as the harsh wind blew into his face and his arms flailed in the air. He lost his breath momentarily at how high they were.

 

Finally, the beast landed somewhere and placed the boy down. _I’m alive! I can’t believe I’m alive!_ Tomi thought, panting. The child slowly glanced back as black matter covered the creature and it changed him back into Taiko.

 

The man stared at the destroyed cliff that they escaped from with an unreadable look on his face. He then turned to the boy and his expression changed. “How did you enjoy your first time flying?” he asked with a smirk.

 

“Never again,” Tomi replied breathlessly and glanced up. The building was just up ahead. Not wanting to give their chasers any time to catch up, he pulled himself up quickly and began to walk toward it.

 

“What? You’re not going to thank me?” Taiko asked, placing his hands on his hips. “I just saved you back there,”

 

“And whose fault that I was that situation in the first place?”

 

Taiko groaned, tired of this conversation. “Kid, look. I have no obligation to help you. I didn’t need to free you from that cage or save you all those other times. Isn’t any of these things good enough for you?”

 

“Ugh, stop it!” Tomi snapped. “Stop acting as if you actually care about doing the right thing. The only reason you’re doing all of this isn’t because you care about me or my sister. You’re doing this because feeling bad about what you did and now you’re trying to feel better about yourself!”

 

The man opened his mouth and closed, looking lost, but didn’t argue with what the boy said. The boy huffed angrily and was about to walk away, but then he heard him murmur.

 

“I don’t know….”

 

“What?” Tomi stopped and looked back at him.

 

“I SAID I DON’T KNOW!” Taiko yelled. “A few days ago, I was so afraid of coming back to my master without the chosen human and facing his wrath, but then I succeeded and brought her to him. Everything was supposed to go back to the way it was, but I just destroyed any chance for me to go back to my old life. All of this is your fault!” he exclaimed, glaring accusingly at the boy.

 

“H-how is that my-”

 

“Before I came to your stupid village, everything made sense to me. I knew what I had to do and why I did it, but then you came along and ruined everything, getting in my way and making me question my job!” he shouted. “Because of you I don’t know what to think anymore….I….I don’t know who to believe anymore…” Taiko’s face flattered and he averted his gaze to the ground.

 

The boy looked at the man hesitantly, unsure of what to say. “I…”

 

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter. Let’s just go get the girl. At least let’s make sure this wasn’t all for nothing,” the man cut him off tiredly and began walking away.

 

Tomi stood there for a moment, feeling uncertain before hurrying after him.

 

**\--------**

 

Tomi stared in awe at the giant building. It was bigger than anything he ever seen back in his village. It looked like it was made of several floors with vines growing on the walls. The boy could have laughed at the irony. He was finally getting his chance to leave the confines of his village to explore a place far away and now their lives were in danger in said place.

 

“Be careful,” Taiko put his hand in front of him and pointed at the entrance where two guards were standing with their weapons.

 

“We’re going to have to find a way sneak in there without them seeing us,” Taiko stated and then had an idea. He grabbed a rock and changed his hand into a claw.

 

“What…are you doing?” Tomi asked.

 

“Get ready,” Taiko said and threw his hand back before flinging the rock with all his might. It hit one of the jars in a garden, the sound of it shattering filling the air. Startled, the two guards hurried over to see what happened.

 

“Come on,” Taiko grabbed the child by the waist and summoned his wings, flying over the entrance and landing on the balcony.

 

Fortunately, they were hidden by the railing so the guards wouldn’t be able to see them. Taiko and the boy crouched down and began walking.

 

“So, where now?” the child asked.

 

“Just follow me. There is a door up ahead that could get us to the chamber your sister is in.”

 

Tomi raised an eyebrow at this. “You seem to know where your way around this place,”

 

“I’ve been here several times before,” Taiko shrugged. Tomi frowned.

 

“But this place is _huge_! How will you know the right one?”

 

“Kid, I know where she is. I’m…kind of the one who one who put her there,” Taiko admitted and this got him a glare from the boy. Taiko raised his hands defensively. “Hey, you should consider yourself lucky. If it had been someone else who took her here then it would have taken us hours to find the chamber she is in,”

 

Tomi decided to drop it and proceeded to sneak forward. Just then, shouting reached their ears.

 

The two looked through small spaces between the bars to see two shapeshifters being yelled at by a knight. They could faintly hear what he was saying.

 

“What do you mean you lost them? He was a giant beast when he snatched the human!” the knight was yelling.

 

“We’re sorry, but we lost sight of him and we don’t can’t find their scent,” one of them stammered.

 

“So you failed then,” the knight said coldly and the two masked men tensed up.

 

“Kid, we should leave,” Taiko whispered urgently, but Tomi didn’t budge, curious to see what the knight was up to.

 

The knight slowly placed his hand on his helmet and the horns began to glow suddenly, creating vibrations in the air. Immediately, the two men gasped and clutched their heads, falling to their knees.

 

Snapping out of his shock, Tomi heard a gasped behind him and turned to see Taiko clutching his head too, his eyes flashing violet while his wings curled up around him.

 

“W-what’s happening?” Tomi asked in fright.

 

The knight finally let go of his helmet and the glow faded. The spell of whatever he was doing seemed to end and the two slowly stood up shakily.

 

“Keep searching and make sure you find him this time,” the knight said with a tone that demanded no complaints.

 

“Y-yes,” they stuttered and quickly left.

 

Tomi turned to check on Taiko. The man was panting, but the glow in his eyes had disappeared.

 

“A-are you okay?” The boy asked hesitantly.

 

“Yeah….I’m fine,” Taiko said. He sounded exhausted.

The child stared at him in concern for a moment then he finally spoke up when the knight was out of his sight. “What was that all about? How did he do that? How did it affect you too?” The boy bombarded him with questions.

 

Taiko paused and seemed to search for the right words to say. “That’s what the knights do when one of us doesn’t follow orders or fails at a task they were given. Our master gave them that power to keep everything in order in the city,”

 

“B-but they didn’t mention anything like that in the school I went to!” Tomi muttered. Whatever that knight was doing, it looked like it was hurting them.

 

Taiko rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, kids aren’t allowed to learn about that until they are old enough to be given their roles,”

 

Tomi stared at the man in stunned silence. His mind wandered off to that teacher and the tight smile she had while speaking to the knight who brought him in. Then those children he met in that class room who wanted to see surface, joked together and showed concern about him. Will they face the same thing too? That made him glance up at Taiko.

 

Was the man in front of him at some point was….like those children?

 

That made a knot form in his stomach and he bit his lip, not knowing what to say about what he just found.

 

“We should hurry. There is no time to waste,” Taiko said and led the boy through the shadows, who followed him silently.

 

“There it is,” Taiko muttered, walking over to the door and opened it. Glancing over, he realized the boy stopped following him. “Kid, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!” he whispered.

 

“I’m sorry,”

 

Taiko blinked. “What?”

 

“Ever since I found out your secret and that you were planning on taking one of us, I hated you,” he said, gazing down at the floor dejectedly. “I kept blaming you for everything bad that happened and saying a lot of things that I realize now were really…terrible. All because I didn’t try to understand why you were doing all of this. I’m sorry. I was wrong about you. You’re….you’re not a monster, Taiko,”

 

The man stared at the child, taken aback and lost for words. Was he really hearing this? He never thought that he will hear the stubborn, annoying bane of his existence said that. Ever. He bit his lip and looked away awkwardly. “You….shouldn’t take all the blame for this, kid. It’s not like I tried to make myself look like a good guy when I told you why I came to your village,”

 

Tomi scowled. “Why don’t you all stand up to him? There are so many of you. You could defeat him easily!”

 

The man’s eyes widened. “What!? You mean my master? Do you have any idea how powerful he is? He can destroy an entire city in a minute if he wanted to. I’ve…I’ve seen that first hand,” he stated and Tomi’s eyes widened. "Besides, even if we actually had a chance to, why would we even fight against him? He built this city. He’s the reason why we have all of this and why humans can’t find us.”

 

Tomi frowned. “But hurts you guys! That’s not right!”

 

Taiko sighed and turned away. “He’s our leader and he only punishes us when we fail him. It’s just how it is,”

 

“B-but the chief in my village never does that!” Tomi countered. “Even when the hunters failed for weeks in bringing us for food for winter and things looked pretty bad for us, he never once blamed them or hurt them!”

 

Taiko paused, but didn’t turn to face him. “….really?” he asked, voice barely audible. Tomi couldn’t tell if he was surprised or didn’t believe him.

 

“Yes, honest!” Tomi muttered.

 

The man seemed to pounder over his words for a moment, but then he started walking again. They quietly sneaked through the corridor and glanced around the corner.

 

“Shouldn’t be anyone guarding this place?” Tomi asked, shivering slightly. He just realized how cold it was in this place. He wondered how that was possible. There was no snow or ice anywhere in sight.

 

“They probably left on their break. Let’s hurry,” Taiko whispered back and the two made their way over to another door. Opening it quietly, Tomi peeked inside to see the clear white room with many pedestals made of the same material scattered throughout the room. He immediately took notice of the only one that wasn’t empty near the edge of the room.  

 

“Suki!” Tomi gasped. Ignoring Taiko’s call, he rushed over to her side. The girl didn’t look to be harmed as far as he could see. His eyes misted over and relief washed over him. He thought he lost her for good that night. “Suki, wake up!” he muttered as he shook her.

 

But no matter what he did, she remained asleep as if she couldn’t hear him. “What is wrong with her? Why isn’t she waking up?” he asked frantically.

 

“Calm down, she’s fine. This is what happens when a person stays in these chambers for too long. We need to get her out of here if you want her to wake up,” Taiko explained. Tomi would have scoffed at the idea of a room doing that to someone a few days ago, but after everything he witnessed since he arrived here, he decided this wasn’t the strangest thing he seen.

 

Not to mention, the boy could feel his mind getting a bit foggy and it was getting harder and harder to focus. All of a sudden it became hard to stay awake.

 

Taiko walked over to them and picked up the little girl from the pedestal, gazing at her almost wistfully. “Never thought I will see you again,” Tomi thought he heard him murmur.

 

“Come on, let’s go!” Tomi urged him, rubbing his eyes.

 

The two turned around and hurried to the exit, pushing through the door. However, Tomi should have known this was all too easy.

 

The two found themselves staring at several knight waiting for them in the corridor. Tomi’s eyes widened and moved closer to Taiko who looked like beyond alarmed.

 

**“So, it was you behind all of this,”**

 

A shiver ran down Tomi’s spine. He knew that voice. The master was here. His eyes scanned the room frantically until he noticed the unearthly green light in the knights’ eyes.

 

 _His voice is coming…from them!?_ Tomi thought, shocked and terrified at the same time. Just who was this man? How could he do all of this?

 

The knight in the middle stepped forward and glanced at Taiko who flinched under the fierce gaze. **“I know you. You’re Taiko, right? You’re the one who brought me this girl. Where are you taking her? Explain yourself,”**

 

Taiko gulped. “I-I’m….Master, we don’t really need these two kids. How about we just let them leave. I’ll even take them back myself-”

 

**“No,”**

 

The two flinched back at the harsh reply.

 

**“We began collecting these humans long ago for a reason you are already aware of. Every one counts. And yet you chose to disobey me despite knowing that…”**

 

Tomi felt his skin crawl. The man’s voice was so detached and cold, cutting through the air like a knife.

 

**“Hand over the girl,”**

 

Taiko bit his lip and glanced down at the girl in his hands. He shook his head. “No. I…I can’t go through with this anymore,” Taiko admitted, putting some force in his voice despite the fear he felt.

 

“Yeah, leave us alone! We didn’t anything to you!” Tomi added. The knight’s eyes turned to Tomi, the light in his possessed eyes flashing intensively and even though they were out of the sleeping chamber, the child felt the air grow colder around him.

 

 **“So this is how it is then. Despite everything I offered you in this city, you go against my commands and betray me. You know what happens to traitors here, right?”** the possessed knight stated threateningly. **“Send him to the arena,”**

 

Taiko gasped and his eyes widened in fear when the knights placed their hands on their helmets, falling on his knees immediately and dropping the unconscious girl on the floor.

 

“No! Stop it!” Tomi tried to run for them, but the other knights struck him with a light orb and he collapsed.

 

Taiko, who clutching his head with his eyes glowing, glanced at the boy with great effort and gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, kid,”

 

The boy watched helplessly as the man passed out on the floor and the knights carried him off out of sight.

 

 **“Take them away,”** the knight said, turning to the children.

 

The remaining knights picked up Tomi and his sister off the floor and began walking away. The boy tried to struggled, but his body was weak and their grip on him was so strong.

 

They were carried through the corridor until they reached a dead-end, or so it seemed for Tomi. There was an outline of a door in the wall for a reason he couldn’t understand. The knights carrying them hadn’t stopped their stride and once they got close enough to it, the door suddenly opened to a white void.

 

Tomi squeezed his eyes shut as the bright light blinded his eyes and incoherent noise drowned his surroundings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. We are reaching the climax for this story. There are probably two or three chapters left.


	9. Deep Below

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, this chapter was tough for me to write, but I hope you enjoy it.

The white light soon faded from the boy’s vision and he blinked, trying to adjust his vision to his new surroundings. He was in someone’s arms and they were talking with another person over him. He could barely make out what they were saying.

 

“Here, take him away,” the knight said, passing him to a shape shifter.

 

It took the boy a moment to remember how he ended up here. Through his sluggish state, he glanced over and saw his sister laid on a pedestal. He wanted to get away and go to her, but his body was still numb.

 

The shape shifter then turned around and left with a woman to a cage hanging by a chain. Just as they stepped inside it, the cage door closed and it began descending down.  

 

After a minute, they reached the bottom floor and began walking through several corridors. Tomi, having regained enough feeling in his body, began to struggle only to feel the grip of his captor get tighter on him. “Enough,” the man muttered.

 

“I’m surprised a human managed to get this far into the city without getting captured,” the woman stated.

 

“It doesn’t matter. He’s not going to get away this time,” the man replied to her.

 

The boy looked around at his dark surroundings. There were deep, ominous noises echoing from the walls. He found himself not wanting to find out what was on the other side of them. He began struggling relentlessly again, much to his captors’ dismay.

 

“Hey, I said stop that!” the man holding him muttered, annoyed.

 

Suddenly, something slipped out of the boy’s pocket and fell on the floor. The two shape shifters only got one glance at it before they dropped the child immediately.

 

“Ow!” Tomi rubbed his head and looked at the two to see they were backing away from him, eyes flashing violet. They almost looked frightened. Confused, the boy glanced down.

 

It was the glass eye he took from that garden.

 

 _Are they….afraid of this?_ The boy tried picking up the item and holding it out experimentally to them, watching as the flinched further back and fled, leaving the child in stunned silence.

 

He glanced down at the glass shape, wondering once again what it meant and what was about it that caused such _terror_ to those two. Shaking his confusion away, the child smiled a little. At least now he had a way to protect himself from them. Tucking it away, he hurriedly walked back down the corridor, mind racing.

 

He was taken to the bottom floor, so he needed to find a way up again where his sister was, but he didn’t know the way back. The boy hoped they hadn’t done anything to her yet.  

 

His mind then drifted to Taiko too. Was he okay? What were they planning on doing to him for betraying them? After seeing the way the guards treated people around here, he was too scared to imagine.

 

The boy then reached two different paths. He glanced right and then left, unsure of which way to go. He eventually took the left path.

 

It wasn’t long until he reached the end of it, but he was disappointed when he found he wasn’t back to the elevator, but ended up in a vast room. Hearing voices down below, the boy walked closer to the edge and hid behind some clay jars to see what was happening.

 

Down below were the biggest pots Tomi had ever seen scattered across the room. There were also guards and shape shifters standing around them. One guard yelled at a man who nodded and changed into a beast.

 

The large creature then walked around the pot and began pushing it away with his head through a large gate, disappearing around the corner.

 

The child wondered what was inside these pots and where the man was taking that one to, but he decided staying to find out was a bad idea. Considering the lack of sunlight, he assumed he was inside a building or maybe even underground. He can’t go back where he came from. The place back there was like a labyrinth and he could end up getting lost, so he decided to search here. In a place this big there _must_ be multiple exits.

 

The boy stiffened when he stepped on some black tar-like substance on the floor. Shuddering, he continued his way forward, avoiding the stains of black goo. His stride came to a screeching halt when he entered a new area. The room was massive, but what caught the boy off guard the most were the long lines of prison cells. He looked over the railing to see even more down in the other floors below.

 

Just as he was passing by one, something slammed into the bars, startling the boy. He gasped when he saw a large grey wolf with ram horns inside the cell, baring its teeth at him.

 

Confused and disturbed, Tomi started walking again, keeping his eyes on the path ahead, but he soon stopped again, taken aback by the sheer size of one of the cells he came across. It was HUGE, nearly over twenty feet tall.

 

What could they possibly be keeping in there? The boy didn’t want to find out. Instead, he walked faster in hopes of finding the exit and getting out of here quickly.

 

He suddenly heard someone coming his way and panicked, looking around frantically for a place to hide. He rushed over to one of the jars placed near the wall and went inside it.

 

“Eww,” he murmured when felt his feet sink into something wet and sticky, but he didn’t get out. The guard soon walked past him, carrying two buckets. He then stopped suddenly, causing the boy to fear he had been heard.  

 

The wolf creature growled behind its cell and fortunately got the man’s attention. “Quiet down!” he muttered, kicking the bars before walking away.  

 

The boy stayed there for a minute and then got out; shuddering at the black goo covering his feet that was almost reaching his knees. Wasting no time, the boy sneaked around until he finally saw an archway. Relieved at the thought of finally leaving this awful place, the human hurried over to it. Ahead of him was a long tunnel. Frowning, the boy made his way through it as the air around him grew colder and colder.

 

Soon enough, he reached a large twin door and the cold air seemed to be coming from behind them. The boy pushed it open to find himself in a room different from all others he had been to. It was made entirely of white, smooth materiel, giving everything an unearthly glow. It almost reminded the boy of the sleeping chambers in design.

 

The boy saw a giant statue half submerged in a large pool. The man was wearing robes from what the boy could see and had a long beard. He made his way over to the pool and put his foot into the water to wash the dark goo off of it, but he immediately regretted that as the icy water prickled his skin and forced him to pull it out.

 

“Why is it so cold in here?” Tomi then turned to the rest of the room and saw something stuck on the wall in the center of it. Raising an eyebrow, he hesitantly made his way over to it and found himself captivated by the drawings on the wall surrounding it.

 

The first thing that caught his eye was an island floating in the sky, which he figured was the city. Then there were monsters of different shapes and sizes gathered up like an army, but among the terrifying creatures was a human dressed in black and white. He was holding a dark circle in his hand.

 

There was another drawing of the same man on the boy’s right, but he wasn’t alone there either. There was a shadowy person in front of him and the man was holding the circle in his hand at them. Tomi scratched his head in confusion, unable to make sense of the drawings or who that man was supposed to be, but he could only assume the shadowy person was a shape shifter.

 

The boy’s attention then returned to the circular thing on the wall. He leaned closer to the glistening surface to see his reflection staring back at him. Curiosity getting the best of him, he reached out and touched the circle, immediately feeling a surge of….something course through his body.

 

The boy grabbed the circle by the sides and with a loud grunt, he ripped the item out of the wall, falling on his back.

 

He sat up and looked at the item he freed. It looked like a mirror of some kind, perhaps even a shield? It wasn’t like anything he ever seen before. He couldn’t even tell what it was made of. Strange markings were carved into it, but the language was too old for him to read. It was incredible.

 

The boy was snapped out of his musings when he felt the phantom gaze of something on his back. When he glanced back, he saw nobody. “Hello? Is anybody here?” he muttered nervously.

 

And that’s when he saw it. There were ripples in the pool the statue was in. Something was…moving in the water. The child watched in horror as a large serpent’s head rose from the water. It had dark, fish-like scales and pale yellow eyes.

 

Tomi paled at the sight of the creature towering over him and barely managed to take a step back as it leaned closer. Did he seriously put his foot in that pool where that thing had been hiding!?

 

“Oh, h-hi. Are you upset about this?” he stammered, showing the mirror. “I wasn’t planning on taking it. I just wanted to…. _borrow_ it for awhile, but you can have it back if you want,” he added, grinning nervously.

 

The beast snarled, showing its fangs dripping with poison before lunging at him. Tomi cried out and held the mirror out in a weak attempt to protect himself, but he was shocked when a bright beam of light shot from the mirror and stunned the monster.

 

It reeled back from the boy, looking dazed. Not sparing any of this a thought, Tomi sprinted to the door and once he was outside, he slammed it shut. He then sighed in relief and backed away from it.  

 

“I guess that wasn’t the way out,” Tomi muttered tiredly. “At least I found this,” he examined the mirror in wonder as the faint glow faded and it returned to normal.

 

Turning around, the boy decided, reluctantly, to go back to the prison room to find another way out. He began to pounder over everything he had seen. Just when he thought he had seen everything strange about this city, these creatures showed up.

 

Where did they come from though? Why were they being kept here? For what purpose? The boy wished there was someone to answer these question who won’t try to capture him.

 

The relief from getting away from that serpent didn’t last long though, because the moment he stepped out of the archway he found himself staring at a group of guards. The boy then noticed the dark footprints left on the floor leading to the room he just came out from and wanted to kick himself for noticing those now.

 

“Did you really think you will easily get away with breaking into the forbidden room and stealing from it?” The knight leader muttered sternly.

 

“If it’s that important then you would have put somebody to actually guard it,” Tomi muttered back, crossing his arms, which infuriated the knights further.

 

“You do realize you’re surrounded by us, right?” he stated venomously.

 

Tomi wasn’t intimated by him though. “Yes, but I’m not scared of you because I have this!” he quickly took out the glass eye and showed it to them.

 

The knights didn’t react the way the boy was expecting as their leader glared at him. “So this isn’t the first time you stole from our city,”

 

Tomi blinked. “Aren’t you…afraid of this?” he asked, despite knowing how dumb that sounded.

 

The knight’s eyes widened as if the child had something he wasn’t supposed to say. “Give me that!” he growled and lunged at him.

 

Tomi jumped between his legs and rolled on the floor. More knights made a grab for him, but he was already scrambling away, reaching a dead end. He was stuck between a cell and the guards. _So much for making things easier for me_. He thought, glaring down at the eye.

 

“I’m getting really tired of this. Capture him!” he called and the other knights formed signs with their hands.

 

Panicking, Tomi looked around desperately for a way out of this and then saw a lever near him. His mind screamed at him that his idea was insane, but the boy grabbed the lever anyway.

 

“Hey, what are you doing? Don’t pull that!” One of the knights exclaimed in panic and tried to stop him. 

 

Ignoring him, Tomi pulled the lever down and the cell door was raised open. Almost immediately, low growls came from within room as a monster stepped out of the cell. It looked a lion and a bear were put together, but the combination didn’t work out well. It had a golden eye while the other was milky white.

 

“You stupid boy! Look what you’ve done!” the guards’ leader yelled. Tomi scrambled away as the beast pounced and began attacking everything in its sight.

 

Tomi quickly ran away up a stair case, glancing back briefly to see the knights trying to subdue the monster with their light orbs.

 

Once he made it to the top of the stairs, he finally found it. A cage similar to the one that brought him here. He rushed into it and he was quickly on his way back to the top floor.

 

**\---------**

 

“Get in there,”

 

Taiko silently stepped into the cell, bruised and scratched up, as the other man locked the door behind him and left.

 

Taiko sighed and fiddled with the shackles on his hands for a moment until gave up. He tried transforming, but they seemed to prevent him from doing so. He was stuck like this.

 

He sat down on the floor tiredly, wincing slightly from the pain in his back. The shape shifter just had his first match in the arena and he was already not looking forward for the many more to come.

 

Taiko stared blankly at the wall, rubbing his sore head. He tried his hardest to not think of how he ended up in this cell, of the kids-

 

Taiko screwed his eyes shut and groaned. He knew it was too late for him to do anything to help them. They were gone. He won’t be able to take them back home nor apologize for getting them into this mess.

 

He had failed.

 

That had been his only chance to make up for his mistake and he failed them both. Now he was stuck here fighting for others’ entertainment. He looked beyond the bars to the other cells where another prisoner was being taken.

 

Taiko’s mind then drifted off to what the kid had told him about their life in the city. He remembered the human village and the time he spent there. He remembered how kind the villagers were to him, treating him like a champion and how they seemed to be living their lives without fear.

 

_“It’s just how it is,”_

 

Maybe….maybe he had been wrong when he said to the boy.  Maybe the life they had here in the city wasn’t the only one to have.

 

The man didn’t know how long he sat there until he was startled by the sound of someone banging on the bars.

 

“Hey, drink this. It just arrived. Your next match will be starting soon,” the man behind the bars said, slipping a steaming cup into the cell before leaving again.

 

Taiko sighed as he moved over and picked up the cup, the light blue substance inside giving it a faint glow. He began drinking it, feeling the pain in his body slowly subside.

 

As he continued thinking, an old memory flashed in his mind.

 

_A group of men were making their way to the edge of the city, ready to depart out when their leader, a man with a thick beard and long cut across his left cheek, spoke up._

_“Wait,” he turned around and crossed his arms. “Alright, come out now. I know you’re there,” he called out._

_After several seconds of waiting, a young boy with messy hair came out from behind a beast statue and walked over to him, huffing. “How did you know I was there?” he asked, confused._

_The man and the others laughed. “Just a hunch,” he said, pointing at his nose. “So, why have you been following us?”_

_“I want to go with you!” the boy muttered excitedly. “I won’t get in your way. I promise!”_

_The man smiled, but shook his head. “I’m sorry, but you can’t come along.”_

_Taiko frowned. “Aw, why not?”_

_“You’re not old enough to come along and we travel very far. Your wings won’t be able to carry you where we will go,” he explained, causing the boy to pout._

_“That’s not fair!”_

_The man raised a brow and then knelt down in front of the child. “Tell me, boy. Why do you want to come with us?”_

_The boy immediately lit up. “I want to go to the surface! I want to see what’s like down there!” The boy seemed to think of more reasons for a moment before speaking excitedly again. “I want to help the city like you do too!”_

_“Well, I’m sure you will someday,” The man smiled and ruffled his hair. “Just be patient, alright?”_

_“Come on, we have to go,” one of the men behind him called out._

_“Alright, alright,” the man stood up and then flashed the boy one last smile before taking off with the others._

_Taiko stepped closer to the edge, watching the men fly away in awe until they were out of his sight. He then grinned. One day, when he was older, he will be flying among them._

_He will visit the surface world and get to finally meet a human._

_The boy called for his wings and closed his eyes, imagining himself gliding freely through the sky. Sitting down on the edge crossed legged, he stared at the sky and distant lands far below, dreaming of the day he will finally visit them._

 

Taiko’s grip on his cup tightened and his eyes misted over. Funny how he wanted to see the surface like every kid after learning about the world below and he ended up doing just that, but as someone who sneaks into human settlements and kidnaps anyone who his master had chosen.

Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe this was justice, for all terrible things he done, for all the humans he brought to this city. Maybe he belonged here after all. This was the perfect place for him and nowhere else.

 

“Come on, get out!” the cell door opened and Taiko walked out in tired acceptance, glaring back when the man shoved him down the corridor. The door soon opened and he stepped into the blinding light and roaring cheers.   

 

**\--------**

 

As soon as Tomi made it back to the top floor, he quickly went to hide as more knights came rushing down the hallway.

 

 _What’s going on?_ He thought, sneaking down the hallway. He immediately recognized the door to the room he was taken from and rushed toward it. Peeking through the door, he made his way inside only to find it empty.

 

His sister was gone.

 

“No, no, no!” Tomi muttered frantically. They already took her. _I’m too late._ He thought, tears of frustration welling up in his eyes.

 

“Tomi?”

 

The boy’s eyes snapped open at this. “Suki?”

 

He watched as the little girl crawled from behind some boxes. Feeling beyond relieved, the boy rushed over and hugged her. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

 

“I woke up here. I went to hide when I heard people outside talking,” she answered and Tomi sighed in relief. “Where are we? Where are mom and dad?”

 

Tomi grimaced, unsure of how to explain the situation they were in to the six year old. “We’re in a bad place and we need to get out of here,” he stated, though he had no idea how they will actually do that. Taiko was the one was supposed to fly them back home. Without him they were stuck here.

 

They needed to find wherever they took him if they wanted to escape.

 

“Come on. Follow me and stay quiet,” he said, taking her hand and leading her away back to the elevator.

 

**\--------**

Sneaking behind the guards at the main entrance, the boy managed to get his sister out of the building. He then took a deep breath, glad to have finally left that building with his sister who was looking around at everything in awe.

 

“Pretty,” he heard her murmur and he couldn’t help smiling at that. When they made it back from the plaza, Tomi felt completely lost. He didn’t know where the place Taiko was taken to was and he didn’t want to wander the streets, which will put them both at the risk of getting captured again.

 

“Hey, can we go there?” Suki asked.

 

The boy looked to where she was pointing to and saw a group of children playing in a secluded area. Tomi was about to tell her no when he recognized a boy and a girl from the ones he met at the school.

 

“Come on,” he muttered and hurried over to where they were talking. “Hey!”

 

“Oh, it’s you again,” the other boy said.

 

“Who is this?” The girl asked with a smile, bending to his sister.

 

“I’m Suki!” she replied cheerfully.

 

“Did you come play with us?” the boy asked.

 

“Well, no. I actually need your help,” Tomi stated, getting their attention. “I need to get to a place called the ‘arena’. Do you know where that is?”

 

The two frowned at that. “Um, yeah, but kids aren’t allowed to go there,” the girl answered while the other boy grumbled under his breath.

 

“Grownups get everything,”

 

“Please, my sister and I must get there now. I have a friend in there who is in trouble!” Tomi insisted. The other boy rubbed the back of his head while the girl looked unsure. They exchanged looks and then seemed to come to an agreement.

 

“…alright, fine. We’ll take you there,” the boy said, summoning his wings and the girl did the same. “What are you waiting for? Call for your wings,”

 

“Um…” Tomi glanced down nervously at his sister and then back at them. “We can’t,”

 

“Why not?” the girl asked, crossing her arms. “You didn’t fly with us back home the other time too. Do you not know how to fly?”

 

Tomi bit his lip, his mind racing for any excuse to save him from spilling the truth, but eventually he gave up. “We can’t fly because we’re not like you. We’re….actually humans,”

 

“……WHAT!?”

 

**\--------**

 

 _I can’t believe this is happening._ Tomi thought awkwardly, being carried from his hands by the other boy while the girl was carrying his sister in her arms who seemed to be having the time of her life. They got a lot of weird looks from the people who saw them flying by and Tomi nearly wished they had gone by foot.

 

Tearing his gaze from the people below, he soon spotted an amphitheatre up ahead. The four children landed down where they can’t be seen by the guards or the people going in.

 

“So, how did you two get here if you can’t fly? Did you live in a city like ours? What kinds of animals live down there? What kind of things can you do?” the other boy bombarded him with questions.

 

“I’m sorry, but there is no time for question,” Tomi replied. “Is there a way for me to get in without being seen?”

 

“I don’t know. We’re not supposed to be this close to this place to begin with,” the girl answered.

 

Tomi sighed and looked up. “Can you carry up there?”

 

The other boy blinked, but shrugged. “Okay, just be careful. They might see you,” he said, carrying Tomi up and dropping him on the wall.

 

“Take care of my sister, alright?” he called down and the two shape shifters nodded.

 

With that, the boy turned around and sneaked in, finding himself behind the seats. There were guards patrolling the area, so he remained hidden between the crowds. He gazed around, trying to find Taiko among all the people here.

 

Suddenly, the crowds exploded into cheers and the boy narrowed his eyes to see what caused this. Dread immediately filled him when he saw Taiko and another man facing each down below, both had chain collars around their necks.

 

The other man had a claw mark on his face, glaring viciously at Taiko. The sound of a bong rang through the air and the two quickly transformed into beasts before charging at each other.

 

Tomi watched in horror as the two began biting and clawing at each other, feathers flying everywhere. The ground shook under their weight while the crowds continued cheering. The other beast suddenly got the upper hand and pinned Taiko to the ground, biting his shoulder and causing him to cry out in pain.

 

“No, stop!” Tomi didn’t even realize he was running until he felt himself pushing through the crowds. Without thinking, he sprinted to the other side as fast as he could.

 

“How did you get here?! Come back!” the guards watching the fight immediately started chasing after him as he hurried to a lever. Grabbing a hold of it, he pulled it down, causing the chain around the beasts’ neck to retract and pull him away from Taiko, giving him enough time to stand up.

 

A guard tried grabbing Tomi, but the child moved back only to lose his balance and fall down into the fighting ground.

 

“Ouch….” He winced in pain, pulling himself up. The next thing he knew he was staring face to face with the angry beast he just provoked. He let out a roar and the mere force behind it was enough to knock the human backward.

 

Just as he was about to pounce on him, Taiko came running and slammed into him, sending him crashing into the wall. The audience over there quickly scrambled back in fright. The beast soon changed back into a human, moaning.  

 

Tomi glanced over to see Taiko changing back to a human and limping over to him. His body was scratched up and his lip was bleeding. “Are you okay?” Tomi asked, worriedly.

 

“I’ve been better, but I’m alright,” the man shrugged.

 

“Well….I guess we’re even now,” the boy stated awkwardly, unsure of what to say. The man blinked and then smirked.

 

“Wrong. I’m still two ahead when it comes to saving,” he replied and then tensed up. The boy looked back to see knights gathering up behind the railing, aiming their spears at them.

 

Hands changing into claw, Taiko quickly got a hold of the collar around his neck and broke it open, freeing himself. He then rushed over to the boy. “Get behind me, kid,” he muttered, teeth growing sharper.  

 

Suddenly, the air went from warm to icy cold in a moment, much to everyone’s surprise. Taiko’s head whipped around and he paled. Tomi followed his gaze and watched as a black mass formed in the center of the arena. The seats and the hanging lanterns all began trembling.

 

Out of the darkness, the master appeared. Green eyes flashing furiously while black mist was swirling all around him.

 

**“I found you,”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. The next chapter might be the last so be prepared.


	10. Hundred Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, we’re finally here. This took a bit of time to come out, but I’m happy with the way it turned out. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the final chapter of Shadow of a Beast!

Tomi’s mind nearly went blank from fear. He moved closer to Taiko as the dark mist continued spiraling around the master.

 

**“You’re far more trouble than are worth, human child,”**

 

“Stay away,” Taiko growled, his voice on edge.

 

  **“Still defying me? I thought you would learn something from being here,”** The master frowned in dismay. **“But why go through all this trouble? Why make yourself our enemy for these humans? I don’t understand you,”**

 

“They’re just kids. You can’t do this to them!” Taiko snapped back.

 

**“These sacrifices are necessary to keep your kind ali-”**

 

“No, they’re not! You keep saying we need to do this to live, but that’s not true. I’ve seen what it’s like on the surface. Humans don’t have to do things like this and they’re living just fine. Why can’t we do the same then?” he shouted and some people in the crowds began to murmur among themselves.

 

The master raised a brow. **“Are you forgetting that you’re the one who brought them here?”**

 

Taiko stiffened then scowled at him. “I know, but I’m going to fix that. I’ll take them-”

**“To where? Back to their village? I’m the one who sent you there, remember? I can easily send someone else to capture them and bring them back here,”** the master stated.

 

Tomi felt as if a bucket of ice water was poured over him. It’s true. Going back to their village didn’t mean they will finally be safe. More shape shifters will come looking for them and won’t let the villagers get in their way. The boy looked up to see Taiko’s determined expression crumble into despair.

 

**“Just admit what you are doing is pointless and step aside now,”**

 

The man glanced down at the boy helplessly for a moment then faced the master again.

 

“No,” Taiko said. “I….I don’t care what you will do, but I won’t let you have these kids,”

 

The master’s glare grew harsh and the air around them became colder. **“Very well. Since you have forgotten, I will be glad to remind you of where you stand,”**

 

The master then placed his hand over his forehead and when he removed it, Tomi gasped at the sight of a glowing red eye with a golden iris there now.

 

A piercing noise suddenly began coming from every direction and it seemed to disturb all the shape shifters in the arena.

 

“Taiko, are you okay?” Tomi asked worriedly, but then cried out when he saw Taiko looking down at him, eyes glowing red.

 

Taiko backed away from him and realized the same thing happened to all the shape shifters in the arena.

 

And they were all staring at him.

 

 **“I’ve grown very tired of you, human. I have changed my mind,”** The master muttered darkly. **_“Crush him,”_**

 

Immediately, everyone got off their seats and hurried down into the battle ground, running, dashing, flying toward the boy with their eyes glowing.

 

Filled with panic, Tomi turned around and scrambled away as fast as his feet can carry him. He ran to the first doorway he saw and closed the heavy door behind him, locking it. Loud growls came from behind the door along with the sounds of banging and claws tearing into wood.

 

Gulping, Tomi stepped back and realized the very walls of the dungeon itself were shaking. He needed to get out of here. Now!

_What do I do? What do I do?!_ Tomi thought frantically.

 

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

 

Flinching, Tomi looked over to see a knight coming toward him, but a piece of rubble fell from the ceiling and crushed him.

 

Tomi cried out and stumbled back, shocked, but then his eyes widened when the man’s body went black and turned into black goo and smoke. _W-what? How…..?_

 

“Is anybody there? What’s going on outside?” A bald man with a scar on his left eye yelled, looking through the bars of his cell.

 

It was then an idea hit Tomi and he rushed over to him. “Hey, you can fly, right?”

 

The man blinked. “Well, yes-”

 

“Then get us out of here!” Tomi exclaimed as the more pieces from the ceiling began to fall.

 

“I can’t do anything with these on!” The man snapped back, showing the child his handcuffs. “Only guards have the keys for them!”

 

Tomi paused briefly then hurried back to the suit of armor on the floor, snatching the keys away. Running back quickly to the prisoner, he opened the cell door and freed the man from his cuffs. “Hurry!”

 

The man changed his arm into a beast’s and smashed the wall of his cell down, revealing freedom.

 

“Hold onto me, boy!”

 

**\-------**

 

 **“** So, this _bear_ lives in forests. What does it look like?” the boy asked Suki.

 

“It’s _really_ big and has claws and it’s fuzzy too,” The little girl explained, stepping back a bit and standing on her tip toes to demonstrate.

 

“Like the, uh, _rabbits_ you mentioned, right?” the girl inquired.

 

The child thought about it and then shrugged. “I guess,”

 

Suddenly, the three heard a noise somewhere and were dumbfounded to see someone not far from them flying away from the arena with Tomi on his back. _“Ruuuuun!”_ he screamed at them.

 

“What is doing-“ the girl didn’t manage to finish as the ground shook and an army of shape shifters, some in their beast form, burst through the wall of the arena chasing after the fleeing boy. The three children scrambled back as more and more followed in stunned silence.

 

Meanwhile, Tomi held onto the man’s neck tightly. He dared a glance back and his blood ran cold at the sight of his pursuers still hot on their heels. There were so many of them he couldn’t count, and they all wanted him.

 

“Why are they chasing us?” The man muttered, panting.

 

“Please keep flying!” Tomi insisted desperately.

 

Just then, the same ringing noise echoed in their ears and the man flinched from it.

 

“No….” Tomi murmured in horror as the man stopped flying and looked at him with red eyes. The shape shifter then began shaking his body and diving down, trying to drop the boy off.

 

Tomi kept a tight grip on his neck as he continued flying over the city and through the tall buildings. They passed by a pool in the edge of the city and Tomi saw his chance. He let go of the man and fell down into the pool.

 

Gasping for breath, the boy looked up and panicked as the beasts dove right after him from the sky. He wasted no time swimming to the edge of the pool and pulled himself out, running away as the beasts fell, smashing the plant pots and scaring the bystanders. Some crashed into the pool and pushed most of the water out.

 

“Leave me alone!” The boy stammered fearfully as he sprinted away while anyone nearby screamed and ran away. A shape shifter came flying from his left and the boy rolled on the ground, causing him to crash into a nearby food stand.

 

Without pausing, the boy headed toward a bridge leading to some distant towers.

 

Tomi was blind with panic as the ground continued shaking violently behind him by the stampede. His pursuers were growing closer and closer, crushing anything that got in their way. They were coming at him like a wave and he was running out of breath.

 

A beast suddenly lunged from the sky, but missed the boy and ended up destroying the bridge up ahead. The child then paled. There was no turning back though. He had to jump to the other side. Heart hammering his chest, the boy breathlessly summoned whatever strength he had left and leapt.

 

But he didn’t make it.

 

Tomi screamed as found himself plummeting through the air. For a moment he thought he was done for, but then the boy felt something snatch him from the air and opened his eyes to find himself being carried away. He recognized the clothes of the person who caught him. “Taiko?”

 

The child panicked momentarily, but then calmed down when he realized he wasn’t being taken back to the arena. The man flew him to one of the watch towers and dropped him in the balcony. The child moved away from the man warily. Even though his eyes were like everyone else’s, he didn’t attack him. He was instead clutching his head, staggering and grunting.

 

He was fighting the master’s control!

 

“C-come on, Taiko. Fight him. Don’t let him use you!” Tomi encouraged. The man’s eyes widened and looked up at him. The boy perked up, thinking his words got to him, but then he realized the shape shifter wasn’t staring at him.

 

He looked back and his body went rigid.

 

The master was floating in distance, glaring at them. He raised his hand and began gathering green energy in his palm.

 

Taiko quickly threw his arms around Tomi and shielded them with his wings just the master fired and struck the tower, causing it to collapse.

 

**\------**

 

Moaning in pain, Tomi cracked his eyes open and slowly pulled himself up. He looked around to see he was surrounded by rubble, light streaming from above. He was in the depths of a valley.

 

Glancing over, he gasped when he saw the fallen form of Taiko. “No!” he limped over to his side and his heart throbbed at the sight.

 

The man’s wings were stained with blood, having lost many feathers and his back was burned.

 

“Taiko….come on, wake up!” he murmured, shaking the man lightly while being careful not to cause him anymore harm.

 

Suddenly, black mist formed near them and the master appeared.

 

Fear spiked within the boy at the sight of the powerful being, but he still took out the shield and blocked his way to the wounded shape shifter. “Stay away from him! You’ve hurt him enough!”

 

 **“He got what every traitor deserves. He should have known there was no hope for him to escape me,”** the man replied calmly, which angered the boy.

 

“Shut up! Stop acting as if you can do whatever you want!”

 

The man didn’t react to his outburst and simply shrugged. **“You’re the one who is delusional. Ever since you arrived here, you foolishly kept trying to get away from us. Nobody has escaped the Nest before and I will do everything to make sure no one _ever_ does,”**

 

“Why? Why do you do all of this? What did humans ever do to you?” The boy exclaimed, tears of frustration welling up in his eyes. The man stared at the boy almost in thought.

 

**“I would rather not waste my time with a mere human like you, but since you insist on asking this, I will tell you. I do this because the Nest must be preserved. This city of oddities is the only place where your friend’s kind can survive and they know it. If humanity knew about their existence they will hunt them down without hesitation like the other monsters on the surface. You know that is the truth,”**

 

Tomi opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it.

 

**“This city is my domain. I protect them from the world; give them everything they need to live, but in return they serve me without questions. All the sacrifices made for the Nest only serve to make me stronger… keep this city afloat. They wouldn’t have survived for all these centuries if it weren’t for me and what I do, which is why they must obey me. That fool thought there is more for them outside my rule, but there isn’t. There is only me and my way. Nothing else,”**

Tomi shook his head, wanting to block out his words. He felt his stomach churn and his shoulder sag in despair. He wanted to tell him he was wrong, wanted to deny everything he was saying, but words failed him. He didn’t know what to say to all of that. He tightened his grip on the shield as the dark being made his way over to him. “S-stay back!”

 

**“Now, give me back my mirror,”**

Tomi stared at the man fearfully, but then blinked when he realized something. “You’re…you’re not him,”

 

**“What?”**

“You don’t look like the statue in that white room,”

 

The man stared at the boy for a moment and an emotion finally flickered on his blank face.

 

Anger.

 

The man’s tattoos flashed while shadowy tendrils formed from the mist surrounding the man. **_“I said give it back!”_** he snarled, voice distorted as the tendrils reached for the frightened boy.

 

Tomi cried out and held out the mirror as the same light burst from it and burned the shadows away. The master was hit by the light and seemed to be weakened by it as the mist around him dispersed.

 

 **“That won’t be enough. I can still get you, human brat!”** the master muttered and slowly walked toward him, the light seemingly unable to prevent him from moving. Tomi’s mind raced with fear as the daunting figure reached for him.

 

Suddenly, something flew past the boy and slammed into the master, hard, sending him tumbling across the floor. Taiko stood over him with his broken wings, beastly fist clutched tightly.

 

Darkness consumed the master’s body before it exploded into black smoke and glowing symbols, creating a noise so sharp it made the stunned boy cover his ears. The rest of the city seemed to be affected by it as well. Tomi slowly removed his hands from his ears and stared at the shape shifter for a minute as it finally sank in.

 

“T-Taiko, you did it!” Tomi muttered. It was over. The master was gone!

 

He didn’t have the time to feel relieved though as the ground suddenly began to shake. “W-what’s happening?!” the boy stammered, feeling his insides rise up. He then noticed some peddles trembling on the ground and seemed to be getting pulled upwards.

 

And that’s when it dawned him.

 

The city was falling from the sky.

 

The boy gasped when he lost his balance and fell on the floor as the tremors grew more violent and gravity weakened.

 

“Tomi!”

 

The boy looked up to see the two children carrying his sister down to him. The little girl stumbled over to him and hugged his waist, frightened.

 

“Tomi, what’s going on?” the shape shifter boy asked.

 

“The city is falling. You need to get out of here!” Tomi replied frantically and the two visibly paled. He then turned to Taiko who was still standing in the same position. “Taiko, come on. Let’s go!”

 

It was then the boy realized something. The dark mist of the master hadn’t disappeared. It was slowly spiraling around Taiko and latching onto him. It covered his entire body and healed his broken wings.

 

“Taiko?” Tomi muttered quietly.

 

The dark man turned to the boy’s voice, eyes flashing an unearthly green as more wings sprouted out of his back and black goo dripped on the floor. Tomi’s eyes widened and heard his sister whimper next to him. “No…..No!” he murmured shakily.

 

The man formed a dark sphere in his hand and aimed at the children. Tomi held on to his sister and screamed as he fired at them.

 

The boy felt his body go numb as if he was drowning. He couldn’t see nor hear anything. It was so cold...

 

The next time he opened his eyes, he managed to make out tree branches towering over him and a dark sky.

 

“Tomi?” he sister said groggily. “Where are we?”

 

The boy looked around at his surroundings and once his vision cleared, his eyes widened in recognition. “This is the meeting spot. We’re back home,”

 

**\-------**

 

Takato sighed as he quietly sharpened his spear on the floor of his family’s hut, trying to ignore the silence.

 

It’s been three days since their children disappeared.

 

Ever since that night everything had came to a screeching halt in their village. Unease and fear hung over them and nothing the chief or the Elder said managed to make the truth any less painful.

 

All this time, the man who helped their village through a dark time, who they saw as a hero had been a monster in disguise. He kidnapped his daughter when they least expected it and escaped with her. Tomi had run off into the forest to save her, but he was nowhere to be found when they got there so they assumed he took him too.

 

They tried searching for them for hours into the night until there was nowhere left to look. That night he refused to stop searching until the other hunters had to drag him back to the village to deliver the terrible news.

 

He felt as if he was walking through molasses and nothing he ever did managed to help him forget what happened for a brief moment. In just one night, they lost both of their dear children. Going through every day was difficult as reminders of them were scattered everywhere in the form of toys and clothes.   

 

His wife took it the worst. She barely spoke and wept whenever she was alone. He looked up to where she was sitting, sewing a ripped shawl. For the past hour she made no progress in fixing it. She just stared at it blankly. The man didn’t know what to do or say to comfort her.

 

_“Dad, please. You have to believe me!” Tomi insisted._

Takato stiffened and lowered his weapon dejectedly. His son had known all along that Taiko wasn’t what he seemed and tried to warn him, but he hadn’t listened, shrugging everything he said as childish fantasies. Maybe if he tried looking further into that, their children would still be here with them.

 

He eventually stood up and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder while taking the shawl away from her. “That’s enough, dear,” he said and the woman barely reacted to that. He can see tears welling up in her eyes again.

 

Suddenly, his friend Akira barged into their hut, startling them. “Takato!”

 

“What is it?” He asked tiredly.

 

“T-the kids….they’re back!” the man stammered breathlessly.

 

Takato remained there too stunned to move and snapped out of it when he felt his wife rush past him. The couple hurried outside to where people were gathering and saw them.

 

Their two lost children were standing among the crowd with the elder and the healer looking over them.

 

“Mom! Dad!” Suki waved at them cheerily as if she had just came back from a walk and not had been missing for days.

 

The father’s eyes misted over while his wife had her hands over her mouth in disbelief with tears falling down her cheeks. The two of them rushed over to their children, throwing their arms around them in a tearful embrace.

 

**\------**

 

Tomi stood there numbly in his parents’ arms as they hugged and sobbed over them. He didn’t know what to do. It seemed to take a while for it to sink. Soon everything that happened caught up to him and a lump rose in his throat.

 

The boy sobbed.

 

The next few days were a blur. Tomi barely noticed how much time had passed. People congratulated for him for returning home safely, asking him questions about where he had been and what happened to that “monster” who took him.

 

“He needed us for something, but then he changed his mind and sent us back,” he always answered whenever they asked and offered nothing more, no matter the confusion, denial or disbelief he received from the adults. He never told them the truth of the city in the sky and what he seen.

 

They wouldn’t believe him….just like before.

 

Whenever he went to sleep, he had nightmares of armored men, people with red eyes chasing him and a shadowy person with ghostly green eyes pulling him into darkness.

 

Tomi felt as if he stepped into a different world than the one he used to live in all his life. Everyone walked about their day happily because they didn’t know what happened, weren’t there, but it wasn’t their disbelief or obliviousness that bothered the boy.

 

His mind always drifted back to the place he had been trapped in for those long three days.

 

What happened to the Nest after they left it? Did it crash somewhere on the surface? Did the people _living_ there survive?

 

What became of Taiko, if he was still alive?

 

There was a time when he had been happily waiting for that man to leave his village and never come back, but memories of the adventures they had, the times they saved each other and protected one another from danger left him wishing to see him once again.  

 

Tomi knew he will most likely never find out the answer to those questions and that probably hurt more than anything.

 

**\------**

 

One afternoon, Tomi left the village after assuring his parents many times that he won’t go far and laid down on one of the grassy hills. He stared at the sky wistfully, remembering how close he was to the clouds back then. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, waiting for the lull of sleep.

 

He didn’t know how long he lay there before a shadow of something fell on him. He shrugged it off as a cloud blocking the sun at first, but then distant cries from his village caused him to snap awake. Birds and other animals were fleeing the area as well.

 

Tomi looked back at his village, not understanding the source of the commotion before staring up at the sky and gaping at the massive form levitating over him.

 

It was the Nest!

 

“It survived….” The boy murmured in disbelief. _“It survived!”_ he exclaimed, not believing his own ears. He rushed down the hill, almost tripping and falling as his eyes never left the floating island for a moment.

 

The city suddenly stopped and winged shape shifters began descending down from it, landing right behind him. Tomi turned to face them, unsure of what to do. Then he realized something about them. _They are not wearing their masks!_

 

“Tomi!” the boy was suddenly tackled by the two shape shifter children, grinning.

 

“You two?” he stuttered, surprised, but relieved to see they were okay.

 

“Yup! We couldn’t _not_ come down to see you!” the girl said.

 

“And the place you’re living in,” the boy added excitedly. “Seriously, I can’t believe we’re actually on the _surface_ right now!” he muttered and Tomi laughed.

 

The man behind them cleared his throat. “So, is this the boy we’re looking for?”

 

“Yes, it’s him!” the girl replied with a nod.

 

“What’s…going on?” Tomi asked, confused.

 

“We actually had to come down to help them because we know you and-”

 

“Stay away from him!”

 

The three were startled by the harsh shout and looked back to see the village warriors running toward them with their weapons. The two children backed away fearfully to the group they came with.

 

Tomi was pulled back by his dad and stood in front of him. “Son, run back to the village now!” his father exclaimed and pointed his spear at the shape shifters.

 

“You came back for more of us, didn’t you? We will not let you steal our children again!” one of the hunters yelled and the others began shouting threats too.  

 

The air was thick with tension. Each side was glaring at the other warningly. Tomi stood there tensely. He didn’t want them to fight each other and also knew the villagers didn’t have a chance at winning against them, but at the same time he didn’t know why the shape shifters were here for him in the first place. They might have used the two children to find him and punish him for what he did to their master for all he knew.  

 

The shape shifters’ leader glared at the humans, but then slowly knelt down and the others followed suit, surprising everyone. “We are not here to fight nor take anybody,” he said.

 

“Liar! We’re not going to fall for that again!” Tomi’s dad shouted and many other voices agreed with him.

 

The leader shook his head. “We no longer take humans. They are our new master’s orders,” he said, sounding almost as if he found his own statement strange.

 

Tomi blinked in surprise at this. _New master?_

 

“Besides, if we wanted to raid your little village it wouldn’t be much of a task,” a woman among them said, flashing her eyes and the villagers flinched back.

 

“Then what are you here for?” the chief of the village asked sternly, walking over and standing by the warriors.

 

“We’re here for that boy. Master Taiko wants to see him,” the man answered, pointing at Tomi.

 

 _What!?_ Countless questions hit the child and the villagers.

 

“Him again? What does he want with my son?” his dad asked bitterly.

 

“Easy! Tomi helped defeat our old master!” the shape shifter boy muttered, oblivious to what he just done by saying that.

 

“What?!”

 

Tomi immediately felt everyone’s eyes on him and wished the other boy hadn’t said anything.

 

“Son?” his dad murmured in disbelief.

 

“I…wasn’t alone,” Tomi admitted awkwardly and the older man looked speechless.

 

“Our master is waiting in the forest,” the shape shifter leader said, gesturing behind him.

 

“Why won’t he come here?” the chief asked suspiciously.

 

“He has his reasons,” the man replied vaguely.

 

“No, my son is NOT going in there. I-”

 

“Dad!” Tomi cut him off tiredly. “It’s okay. I’ll go,”

 

His dad paled and grabbed his hand. “Tomi, no! You can’t go there where that…”

 

“Dad, Taiko may have taken us, but we wouldn’t have come back without him. I’ll be fine. Trust me,” he said. Hesitating for a minute, the man let the boy’s hand go and made no attempt to stop him.

 

The shape shifters’ leader moved aside and showed him the way. Swallowing back his fear, the boy headed toward the forest.

 

**\------**

 

Tomi quietly entered the forest, feeling uneasy. He didn’t know what to expect. Every time he closed his eyes he saw those eyes staring at him. With the sky bathed in orange, shadows were casted over the trees, giving everything an ominous look.

 

Gulping, he continued his way forward and then stopped when he saw something. A dark mist shrouded the area ahead, making it hard to see what was beyond it. Suddenly, a pair of green eyes blinked into existence and locked on him, causing the boy to take a frightened step back.

 

A black silhouette then stepped out of the darkness. The boy couldn’t make out any of his physical features except for his eyes. Many wings and appendages were coming out of his body and seemed to extend and spread through the trees behind him. The boy shivered under his silent gaze.

 

“T-Taiko?” he tried calling.

 

The black substance moved slightly from his face, revealing his mouth.

 

**“Hey, kid,”**

Tomi blinked and frowned, uncertain of where to start. “Are…are you okay?” he asked.

 

The man shrugged. **“As far as I can be like this,”**

 

Tomi found himself slowly relaxing and eyeing his body curiously. “So….you’re the Nest’s new master?”

 

The man nodded. **““When I first got his power, it tried to take over me, but I managed to fight it. Now that he is gone, my kind is free from his rule. They won’t suffer from him anymore,”** he said. 

“But why did you come here?” Tomi asked, confused.

 

 **“I just…wanted to see this place again,”** Taiko answered, his eyes drifting off to the village beyond the trees. The boy couldn’t tell for sure, but there almost longing in his eyes. He briefly wondered if the shape shifter missed the life he had there. **“And...I wanted to check on you,”**

 

Tomi was surprised at this and then smiled weakly. “We’re doing just fine,” his smile then fell when he realized something. “Well, what are going to do now that you guys are free?”

 

 **“We will explore the world,”** Taiko said, a flicker of excitement worming its way into his voice. **“We’ve been living in hiding for centuries. I think it’s time for us to find a place for us on the surface and…maybe even reconnect with humanity. There will be no boundaries anymore. Our master was wrong. I think we can have a life here. We can survive,”**

 

Tomi frowned. “But what about-”

 

 **“I know,”** the man sighed. **“Getting humans to trust us will difficult because of what we are and our past. My kind has done many terrible things by him, but I managed to convince many of my people to abandon their old ways, so…I believe there is a chance. I will try to make up for everything we’ve done in the past; no matter how long it takes for us to get there,”**

The man looked at the boy and grimaced, seemingly self-conscious of his appearance. **“I’m…unsettling you, aren’t I?”**

 

Tomi paused and then after a moment shook his head. “You may look different, but you still sound like the big jerk that I know,”

 

Green eyes blinked at the child and a chuckle escaped the man. **“And you’re still that same annoying little brat,”** he then smiled. **“who is a friend of mine,”**

 

Without a thought, Tomi rushed over and threw his arms around the man’s waist. “You’re going to be okay, right?”

 

He felt two cool arms wrap around him. **“We’ll be fine…now,”**

 

The boy then slowly pulled away, feeling his eyes misting over. The shadowy man then seemed to remember something. **“Oh, hey. I don’t wish for them to see me like this, but…can you tell all the villagers that I’m sorry for everything. Your sister too,”**

 

That caught the boy off, but he nodded frantically. “Of course!” he muttered, refusing to not let him have this one request. “But my sister doesn’t know you were the one who took her to the Nest. She was asleep most of that time,”

 

 **“I just want her to know that,”** the man insisted.

 

Tomi looked at him unsure, but nodded again.

 

 **“Thank you,”** Taiko said before turning away. **“So long….Tomi,”**

 

The boy’s teary eyes widened as the man flashed him one last smile before disappearing in a flicker of green light.

 

Tomi stayed there for a moment and then whipped his eyes. He hurried outside the forest to see the two children waving goodbye at him before flying away with the rest of the adults to the city.

 

Soon enough, the island looming over them began flying away while the humans down below stared at it in silent awe. Tomi watched it go, finding himself feeling at ease at last.

 

“Son, there is a lot you need to explain,” his confused dad said tiredly, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

 

“I know,” Tomi replied and glanced back, smiling as the city became a spec in the far horizon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand done! Wow, I can’t believe this is finally over. This has been one of the most fun experiences I had while writing a story. I’m glad you guys enjoyed this AU. Thanks for all your positive feedback and support. Also, special thanks to P3rson for all their constant support. 
> 
> Until next time! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my Shapeshifter AU. Also, the name “Taiko” pronounced “Tai-ko” is based on the name. “Trico”. :)


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